Ms. Kealy and Mr. Ryan, May I ask you a question?

Hello Friends and Family,

Its been a pretty 'normal' last couple of days, for living in China, that is. So we thought we would share with you about some of the teaching we have been doing this week. On Sundays, we usually plan out our lesson for the week together, and we only have to create one, 1.5 hour lesson, and we each teach the same lesson nine times to nine different classes. Well, this week, we decided we wanted to encourage the students to talk about something they knew well, so we decided that one of the topics would be movies! Also, because we realized while being in the hospital here in China how hard it is to explain when you are not feeling well in a foreign country, we thought we would also talk about 'seeing the doctor'. We planned our lesson and it was pretty packed, but we thought we would give it a try. So on Monday, the first lesson is always a little sketchy, because we're not sure how long certain activities will last or how the lesson will go. Without knowing it, Kealy and I started our lessons on different topics. We each have a slightly different teaching style, so we talk about the lesson but then plan/adjust the activities to fit our style. Well she had started talking about 'seeing the doctor' with the students, and by the half-way point, a ten minute break where we get to say hi to each other and see how class was going, she hadn't gotten very far because the students were so interested in the topic. I, on the other hand, had started with movies on accident and was having an equal amount of success. So we decided to teach our lessons entirely about the topic we had started on and we discovered a great strategy. Why not perfect a lesson on two different topics during the same week, and then the next week, we could switch topics and the other person already had an ironed out lesson that would work well. Brilliant! So during my movie lesson, I start out with asking questions that they in turn will ask each other: Have you seen any good movies lately? What kinds of movies do you like? What is your favorite movie? If you could be a movie star, who would you be? Pretty basic questions but it gets them talking English. We make a list of different kinds of movies and I imitate the genre. For example, with action, I play James Bond and get down on my knees and shoot a gun. For horror movies, I scream really loud and surprise the heck out of my students, its fun to watch their faces knowing I'm about to scream at them. I do a pretty good Kung Fu impression too that they laugh at. We then make a list of popular American movies in China; Titanic, Harry Potter, King Kong, Crash, etc. and a list of popular Chinese movies. I have them write the titles on the board in Chinese and then they have to explain the movies to me, what they are about, how old they are, etc. Then they have to discuss the major differences between Western and Chinese movies and they have some interesting responses. Then, at the end of class, they play a game where one person has a movie in mind and the other person has to ask questions to figure out what the movie is. We try to design our lessons to get the students speaking comfortably in English and also having opportunities to listen to us speak English so they get used to hearing a Native English Speaker. Finally, at the end of class, I write HOMEWORK on the board in huge letters and I wait and listen to them all groan! Its great! Then I write, 'practice speaking English'! And tell them in order to improve they have to practice outside of class. They all laugh and giggle and then I tell them to go away! Its been my most favorite lesson so far. Tomorrow, Kealy will tell you about 'seeing the doctor' on the blog, another great lesson.

Tonight we also went to English corner, a one night a week event where students can show up and speak English with us. Sounds fun, right? 30-40 students crowding around you bombarding you with the same questions over and over and staring at you trying to hear you talk. Its a little wierd. We both feel a little shy. Everyone is staring at us, not because we are skilled at something or famous, but because we were born white and in America. We, however, are getting used to it and learning how to concentrate on specific students and are having some good conversations with them. Tonight, some of my students even asked me about American politics, history and religion, so we had a good discussion and I think they understood the majority of it, so that was cool. They are all very polite and very eager to learn, but sometimes we feel a little overwhelmed.

We went back to the movie store and bought the first season of Prison Break for $1.50. It is very popular here and all of the students like to talk about it, but we've never seen it, so we bought it to catch up, and to have a way to relax and something to watch. Please pray for Ryan as he goes back into the hospital tomorrow for a check up to make sure the infection is gone in his sinuses. Check back tomorrow for Kealy's lesson! Talk to you soon.

Sincerely,
Ryan and Kealy Thorson


A view from one of our classroom windows

A view from the patio where Kealy and I take our breaks and talk

A night at the college--A basketball victory

Hello Friends and family,

Hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. We had the same and are enjoying a healthy balance of excitement and relaxation. We have been watching a lot of movies as a way to unwind each day and tonight, we even bought 14 pirated movies for a total of US $1!!!

As part of our effort to develop more relationships here in China we decided that, in addition to Thursdays (English Corner) we would go to the college one night a week and just 'hang out' with students. Tonight was the night and it worked out great, as two of Kealy's students invited her and I to come watch one of their intramural basketball games and one of my students invited us to dinner. So I met Kealy at the college after her classes and we watched her two guy students play basketball. They were really happy that we came and we had a great time talking and laughing with the girls that came to watch the boys play. The level of basketball was pretty good as well, about the same as college intramurals in the states. They ref their own games and everyone was pretty fair and they keep score but righting on the concrete with chalk! They came over a half time and they were losing to the freshmen and, after the guys asked us for tips, I asked them if they were worried that they were losing to the freshmen? He replied, "all in good time, Mr. Ryan!" and they came back and won! We also had a good time with Kobe at dinner. He shared with us a poem he had written and his English is very good, so we had a really nice conversation. He told us after dinner that he was 'proud to have eaten with us'!

Here are some fun pics from tonight.

Kealy with the girls at the basketball game.


some of Kealy's students in her classroom


Ryan with the victorious basketball team!

Also, on Sunday, we ordered KFC in Chinese for the first time, before we just pointed and hand motioned like silly foreigners, so it felt good to be able to order 'the real way'. Have a great day and we'll talk to you soon.

Sincerely,
Ryan and Kealy Thorson

Life's Little Luxuries and a Birthday Dinner

Hello Friends and Family,

We have had a great time the last couple of days just enjoying daily life and continuing to develop relationships with the great people that are here. Yesterday we got to spend more time with our 'pizza hut friends', Americans, living here with a 3 year old son and 10 month old daughter. Kealy went for a walk with Tiffany and I got to stay and play X-Box with Brent. After a little Madden and Ghost Recon (video games) we all went to a Japanese restaurant! We laughed that we were eating Japanese food in China, since they are pretty similar, but it was quite good and we particulary enjoyed the fried rice. Today was a great Saturday to sleep in and the weather was nice and cool (low 70s). We went for a nice walk and lunch at KFC! Then, after lunch, for a total of $3 American money, we each got a 45 minute hair wash and massage and Ryan got a haircut and Kealy her hair styled. It is such a great relaxing and fun thing to do and so inexpensive also. We laughed and giggled for the whole hour as we enjoyed and relaxed.


This is Kealy buying one of our favorite snacks, watermelon from Hainan Island.

After our wonderful massage we walked around the block and I found some sandals that barely fit me enough to wear around the house. We also spotted some cute kids and they followed us for a while and we bought some ice cream for them and they thought that was pretty cool.


Tonight we were invited to dinner at the college to celebrate the birthday of one of the teachers from the Phillipines, Elaine! We felt so honored to be invited to her birthday dinner and she even cooked some food that they knew we would both have in common; deep fried shrimp, spaghetti and hawaiian chicken. All of it was delicious. Her husband Richard even brought out his guitar and sang us Filipino folk songs and we had a great time sitting on there porch and talking together.

After dinner we headed home and of course stopped by our favorite mini-store that we stop by each day for icecream, mentos, juice, and other snacks. They know us by name and the family that runs the store are really friendly, the guy even gave us some grapes today for free to snack on. One of the daughters has a one year old and she is trying to teach the child how to say 'aunt' and 'uncle' in English so she can call us that. Pretty fun. Talk to you soon.

Sincerely,
Ryan and Kealy Thorson

Lantens and Cotton Candy-Nanhu at Night

Hello friends and family,

Another day and the attempt to obtain 'normalcy'. We are taking small steps each day, a chance to rest and then some adventure. Our piece of adventure today was dinner at KFC (okay, that was the easy part) and then a trip to Nanhu park in downtown Nanning to walk off the pop and fries from KFC. The park is espcecially beautiful at this particular time because of the Mid-Autum festival and National Holiday that recently occurred. The lake in the middle of the park is currently full of large decorations, called 'lanterns' by the Chinese but are more like giant displays filled with lights at night.


As you can see, the lights are beautiful and the displays are quite large. They line the walkway around the lake so we spent an hour just walking around the lake and enjoying the different displays. There were many other people there and the atmosphere was really enjoyable, plus the weather was a cool low 70s. We really enjoyed just walking the lake and people watching; little toddlers running around with shoes that squeaked, young couples flirting and holding hands and older men and women walking for exercise and clapping their hands as they walked. We sang songs and enjoyed the atmosphere of being in a park in China and trying to soak in the culture and the positive and relaxing atmosphere that permeated the park.

We even found a vendor selling cotton candy, quite the treat and so we bought some and ate it as we walked. We are trying to do something fun and adventurous each day and today was a success. We are enjoying all the free time we have together just to be together and hang out. We are also enjoying getting back into the schedule of teaching and getting to know the students more. Hope you had a great day, too! Talk to you soon.

Sincerely,
Ryan and Kealy Thorson

Keeping an open mind

Hello Friends and Family,

Well, we got back into the routine today with teaching at the college. It was good to see all of the students after not teaching for two weeks and they were eager to see pictures from our trip to Sichuan. We took in the computer and showed them some pictures from the trip and they quite enjoyed them. This week we are talking about travel itineraries and they are planning two day tours of Nanning for our 'foreign friends' that might come to visit. So if anyone of you could see us, there will be about 100 different itineraries to choose from. They enjoy it and it gets them talking, it also gives us an idea of what else is in Nanning that we haven't seen yet and might want to explore. Kealy made her increasingly famous potato and egg meal tonight with some onions and mushroom flavor thrown in. Delicious! After dinner we went out in the dark and I got creamed by my wife in two games of PIG! We are trying to exercise and be active and regain our strength from the last two weeks. We are also trying to eat fruit for dessert instead of ice cream, but the ice cream here is really good. The fruit however, is also sweet and delicious. There are some great watermelons from Hainan island, a province in the south China sea and some orange/tangerine that actually has a green peel and looks like a lime.


As we continue readjust to our teaching schedule, we are working everyday on having an openmind and observing the interesting things that have happened to us with a positive attitude. Things are very different here, not bad or good, necessarily, just different and we are working hard at accepting and embracing those differences in hopes of gaining a better understanding/appreciating for the country and culture we are living in. Here are some interesting things we have seen that have made us laugh/gasp/puzzled:

-When standing in line for the Grand Buddha in Sichuan, Kealy felt something on her arm and looked down and the Chinese lady behind her was rubbing her arm and admiring her white skin and freckles!
-In the same line, we turned around and there were a group of Chinese tourists snapping pictures of us like we were celebrities or animals at the zoo and when Kealy was on her own on Huanglong mountain, two different random groups of people asked to get their picture with her. I think it is because she is so beautiful.
-On our long hike down from Emei mountain, we came across a man in just shorts in the freezing cold carrying a huge pile of umixed concrete on his back. He was exhausted and tired and a person next to us told us that he would probably make four or five trips up the 3000 meter mountain a day and make about 2 US dollars a trip. It really put things in perspective for us and whenever we get tired or frustrated, we remind ourselves we could be carrying concrete up EmeiShan.
-Traffic in China is absolutely crazy. The only rule is that no one follows the rules, its about getting in position so the car in front of you has to stop or they will hit you. Crossing the street is the same way and honking is frequent. In addition to this, some drivers, instead of taking a test to earn their license, just pay extra and are giving a license to drive. They chinese call them 'road killers'.
-Finger nail clippers are a common tool for fixing split ends in China and cardboad boxes are used for clipboards at the hospital.
-It is concerned 'bad for you' to eat fruit BEFORE your meal. It is considered a dessert.
-One wonderful thing about the Chinese, is that when you are in trouble or there is a crisis, they will drop everything they are doing to help you and will not rest until you are comfortbale or the issue is resolved.
-There is no concept of a line in China, you just have to get closest to the cashier or bus and get on.
-If you have a friendship with someone in China, than they consider you family. There kids will call you 'uncle' or 'aunt' and you are their 'brother' or 'sister.

We are experiencing so many different and new things each day, we wanted to let you know of some. We have many neighbors that visit us each night; geckos, the occassional, yet frequent, rat on our walks at night and tonight, after basketball, we were swarmed by about ten young boys who kept jumping up as high as they could to see if they could reach my head and so we stopped and played with the ball with them for a while. Lots of great adventures! We love you all and we miss you and we are glad you can share this adventure with us. Talk to you soon.

Sincerely,
Ryan and Kealy Thorson

One the Road to Recovery--Recaps from a crazy month

Hello Friends and family,

Alright, I think we're ready to jump back into the blogging world and get back on track. It has been a crazy last couple of weeks, but our Rock has stood firm and the waters are hopefully subsiding. Tomorrow is Ryan's last day going to the hospital for IV and anitbiotics, after that he will continue to take medication and go back in in two weeks for a check up to make sure the infection is gone. We are very thankful that we were able to get to a good hospital and the college has been very helpful in getting us adequate care. We start teaching classes again next Monday and so we are preparing lessons, hanging out and trying to continue to build relationships while we are here.

But we didn't want to forget to tell you about our trip! We had an...hmmm...interesting time. We saw some amazing parts of China and met some really neat people that we traveled with. Here are some brief highlights and pictures. We will provide a more detailed account of our trip on our travel blog over the next couple of days if you want to check it out!

-Three hours before we were flying out of Nanning, we found out that our tour guide for the trip could not get time off of work to go with us so we were one our own. We have already paid for the plane tickets and she promised to take care of us over the phone and set-up people to help us along the way, which she did.
-We arrived in Chengdu, Sichuan, a province in the mountainous region of China next to Tibet. The very first day was one of our favorites. We visited a Giant Panda Breeding Research Center, basically a zoo for pandas and got to see them close up and in all different stages of developemt, including some one month old twin panda babies. We also watched some adolescent pandas wrestle and play king of the mountain for fifteen minutes...one of the highlights.


-That evening, after exploring a temple, we went to a Sichuan Cultural show, with music, drama, some incredible hand puppet displays and the famous #2 magic in China, face changing. The magicians have masks over there face and with a twicth of the neck or blink of an eye there mask changes in front of your eyes, quite astounding.


-The next day went joined a tour group in route to visit the world's largest Buddha. 25 stories tall and 1200 years old, it was an architectual amazement. It was carved out of rock by a monk and took over 80 years in the 800s AD. We enjoyed getting to know two gentlemen from Singapore that spoke excellent English and were our 'unofficial' interpreters and friends.

Mr. Buddha himself

Our friends and 'interpreters'; Bruce and Darris

-The next day we visited the #1 mountain in China. Emeishan. We were expecting grandiose views and inspiring scenery, but instead had a long hike and a lot of fog. Nonetheless, it was cool and fun and we even got very close to some wild macaques.


-The next four days we spent traveling to the Northern part of Sichuan on the bumpiest road you can imagine for 10 hours. We were stopped by crazy drivers and goat herders, but saw some beautiful country and a glimpse of the Tibetan culture. Alpine lakes and beautiful colored water awaited us at 'Jiuzhaigou' or nine village valley. A national park of sorts, much like Yellowstone, which we explored for a day and a half. We met a chinese couple who spoke English and were very kind and we even dressed up in some of the local costumes.





-Though I wasn't feeling well and didn't go, Kealy ascended HuangLong (or yellow dragon) mountain, a heigth of 4100 meters, about 13,500 feet and hiked down for about four hours through limestone pools and majestic scenery.

Kealy, the mountain conquerer!



-There were many temples along our way and we got an interesting glimpse into the Buddhist community and its origins,backgrounds,beliefs,etc.



-We finally made it home after a week and crashed, hospital, etc. you know the rest. But we had a good time, nonetheless, we were protected and we learned a lot about each other and this crazy world! We love you and miss you all very much. talk to you soon. We are feeling better and more uplifted and have run into more potential for relationships to grow.

Sincerely,
Ryan and Kealy Thorson

No Better Medicine than prayers and friends

Hello Friends and Family,

Just wanted to let you know that I am feeling much better. The hospital has shown us a place where we can get wireless internet and we wanted to give you an update. Initially after a few tests, etc., the doctors determined that I had a very serious infection of my frontal and maxillary sinuses. My nasal septum is also deviated (bent) and prevented the release of puss and other liquids so the pain and infection built up quite fast. They put me on an array of medicines and IV of antibiotics for almost four hours a day. They also did an endoscopic examination of my nasal cavity to determine if I needed emergency surgery. After examining the infection, they determined that no surgery was needed and that a consistant dose of antibiotics over the next week should cure the infection. A CT Scan, EKG, Lung and chest x-ray, as well as blood tests revealed that the infection had not spread throughout the rest of my body so everything seems to be contained. I have a occassional cough and am fatigued, but after three days in the hospital the infection is getting better and the doctors will send me back home today. I will still have to come into the hospital for four more days for 'nasal washing' (a pleasant experience) and more IV, but I do not need to stay here overnight.

Thank you for all of your prayers and thoughts over the past few days. It was initially a little scary, being in China with such a serious infection, but according to the doctors and our school we are at the best hospital in our province and many of the doctors here speak good English so they can give us detailed information. Kealy is taking very good care of me, and many people from the college and friends have stopped by to hang out and chat. We have felt your love and God's presence here and we continue to praise Him for His protection and thank Him for your love. We love you all and we'll keep you posted.

Sincerely,
Ryan and Kealy Thorson