Travels...Or Where I've Been for the Last Month+

So, yeah, I've been gone a while now. But here's a brief update of what's been going on!

After classes ended early in January, my first trip of the break was to Japan. While in Japan, I traveled with my friend Trey, who thankfully did almost all of the planning for the trip (thanks, Trey). We went to Nara, Kyoto, and Tokyo. In Nara we got to see the largest wooden building in the world, some tame deer, and they even burned a very large hill while we were there. I was a little sad that the hill burning was not so exciting, and it was very cold while that was going on, so we didn't stay to watch the full thing burn. Ha. But it was a nice small city in Japan. Kind of reminded me of one of my hometowns in America, actually.

Kyoto was the city of old Japan. We saw so many old temples and buildings in this city! Some of them were truly beautiful, particularly one building that was completely covered in gold. The way the sun was shining on it was just amazing. And we stayed in a Ryokan while we were there. This is a traditional style Japanese building. We slept on mats on the floor, and there were rice paper doors, and everything was on the ground basically. It was a very nice experience. The people there brought us a special tea every day we came back home, and they even had a large bath that we got to enjoy a couple of nights. Japanese people apparently really enjoy a good bath. I'm not sure it was my favorite, but it wasn't too bad either.

Then came Tokyo. I loved Tokyo. It was so expensive there, but I really enjoyed being there. I tell you honestly that I love being in China, but there is a part of me that hopes that someday I get to live in Tokyo, too (don't worry Mom...I'm not signing away my life just yet :)! The people there were generally so friendly, the city was so clean, the buildings were often very beautiful, the people all looked and acted in such interesting ways...I mean, I really fell in love with the place. It's the best large city I think I've ever met. I think I liked it even more than New York City, but maybe I don't know enough to truly say that. Anyway, I think my favorite area there was the Ginza area. It seemed like you really had to have a lot of money to live there, but everyone looked so professional there. I don't exactly know how to describe it, except to say that it felt strong and powerful, and at the same time humble and ready to welcome you. Ha, maybe I am wrong, but that's how I felt there. All in all, though, I thought Japan was a wonderful place to visit. I'm really glad I went.

After Japan, I flew back to Shanghai and stayed there for a week. I got to spend time with other ESEC teachers, and I also got to spend some time with their students that I had met this past semester. It was really a great time to relax and just enjoy some casual friendships. I also got to do a little shopping while I was there. It was amazing to me that, even though Shanghai is a very Western city in China, the prices there are SO much cheaper than the prices we saw in Japan. Japan is really a very expensive country, with the exception of a few things here and there.

Then I was back in Bengbu for about a week before I went to Hong Kong. I also loved getting to go there. I got to see my old friend from work, Patrick. I got to celebrate the Chinese New Year with his family. That was great fun. It's such a fun time of year for the Chinese, it seems. All the family gets together, and, well, it reminded me a lot of being back home with my family for things like Christmas. So, I was really honored to get to share that time with their family. Another ESEC teacher, Drew, joined me in a very, very small hotel room there. But we managed okay, and we got to see many of the good things around Hong Kong. We even went to the Ocean Park there, which is a combination of an amusement park and an aquarium. And two days after the New Year, we went up to Victoria Peak, and we got to see all of the fireworks in the harbor from up there. I took some video of it, and it's just amazing. So many fireworks. But I had to leave Hong Kong, too. So now I'm back in Bengbu. I'm working on all my lesson plans for next semester. There's still a lot of work to do, but I think it's worth it.

Well, that's my travel story. If you want to see some of the pictures from the trips, you can go to:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jcross81

Favorite Quotes 3

Sorry, I will have have to delay the Christmas gifts pictures a little longer. I can't access my blog directly, so I'm having to have a friend post this for me, and posting the pictures is a little time consuming, given that I'm about to leave the country, headed for Japan. Woo hoo! It's the end of the semester (sad), but it's the beginning of my 6 week vacation (yea!). So, I'll leave you with another set of quotes from students while I'm abroad.

"To be friend, I trust it is in the near future. Now I am talking about you with my roommates. Frankly speaking I like you."
-A new friendship that has recently developed thanks to Office Hours!

"Hearing your words, I am very happy from my heart. Excited and moved, I can't find any words to express my feelings. No words can do that, so being active to treasure the friendship between us is the best way, also the only way to describe my emotion."
-Really, some great friendships have developed during this semester.

"Meeting you is the most meaningful thing of my college life."
-This was from my "didi" or younger brother. A guy I also met from office hours. He is not really part of my family, but I think our friendship was meant to be, beyond my own intentions. For those of you who know my meaning, I think you also know my request to you about this friendship. It's a good one.

"Merry Christmas, John! May you have a nice Christmas, and grace and blessoing from Jesus is upon you!"
-Hard to be upset with that kind of wish on Christmas day in China!

"Hey, Merry Christmas! Cheerful everyday! Haha :)"
-Ha. The phrase "happy everyday" is a common one around here. Love that Chinglish!

"Merry Christmas! Wish you happy everyday!"
-I wasn't kidding! I could share MANY of these with you, but I'll stop with this one.

"Much joy to you in the coming year. May the warmest wishes, happy thoughts and friendly greetings come at Christmas and stay with you all through the year!"
-Really excellent English skills in this message. We don't get many of these, so I thought it was worth sharing.

"Season's Greetings to my teacher and friend, Mr. Ross. May you and your family have the best Christmas Eve ever. May happiness follow wherever you go, and at the same time, don't forget to hang up the sock tonight :)"
-Hahaha. Something just seems a bit kinky about that last part.

"Mary Christmas!"
-Can't see the line, can you Russ? Haha, name that movie!

"Happy christrancs eve! Happy christrancs day!"
-And a happy newtancs yearcs, too!

"Hot shit, Merry Xmas! Haha, hope it would snow tonight!"
-Hahaha. Some students know some American slang. And it's always interesting to see how it gets used...

"Thank you for joining us tonight. We all really had a good time. And we all regretted for not inviting you for dinner at the beginning of the semester, when we thought we are all shy."
-It's been cool to see that all throughout the semester, new students have suddenly decided to be a little bold and really try to be good friends with us. I think these friendships will carry over into next semester.

"Whether the weather be fine, or whether the weather be no; whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot; we will weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not. Don't let this gloomy weather influence your mood!"
-This one's for my mom. She worries about whether there will be weather a lot.

"HARRY New Year!"
-Hermione and Ron send their regrets.

"These ideas will not cost us much money. We can offer some newspaper, magazines and drinking in the rest room, so if they don't play the game during the rest time, they can enjoy themselves with the drinking and other."

-Of course, to be a proper company, drinking in the restroom isn't allowed before noon! Haha, this was actually part of a students answer on a test. Gotta love it!

And that's it for now :) Hope you all are enjoying the New Year! By the way, have you heard that I'm an UNCLE???!!! Little Eli Ross was born on 1/7/08, and it sounds like he and Mom and Dad are all doing very well. Congratulations Don and Courtney!

Coming Soon!

I got some interesting gifts for Christmas, but I just got my camera back from a friend. So I'll try to take pictures and put them up here soon. Ha!

Favorite Quotes 2

Back for Round 2 of my Favorite Quotes! I'll offer some explanations on some of these to help you understand the context. I think it will add a bit. Nonetheless, a good mix of funny and sappy quotes again :)

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If A is 1, B is 2, C is 3...Z is 26, then L+O+V+E = 54 and F+R+I+E+N+D+S+H+I+P = 108. Friendship is twice as strong as love. Thanks for your friendship!
-Thanksgiving wishes from a student

I open my wallet, find no money. I open my pocket, find no coin. I open my life, find you, then I know how rich I am. Forever my friend. Thank you!
-More Thanksgiving wishes (and no, my students aren't so clever as to come up with all these things...they are basically text message forwards, but they are nice, nonetheless)

In this world we are always losing something. When we lose these things we feel very sad. But we had better not lose these two things - the last bus going home and the woman you love deepest.
-A note from a girl student. Ha! If you asked her, though, she would have no idea of the possible implications of such a message.

What's wrong with you?
-A student said this to me to basically ask what had happened to me on a bad day. What he meant to convey was simply, "What's wrong?" But what was implied was, "Hey Crazy, are you mentally ill?" Ha. A simple misuse of a basic phrase, but it was funny.

Mr. Ross, it will be much cold tomorrow, so wear more cloths:-)
-From a boy student. God love 'em. I have more mothers in China than I ever dreamed possible in America. Even the boys tell me to watch out for "weather." That one's just for you , Mom.

Once there was a hero, his sword was cold, his heart was cold, and his hands were cold, too. Therefore, he died because he was so cold. That informs you that it is cold now. Wear more clothes!
-From a girl student. Sometimes it's pretty funny.

I'd like you to meet my friend. His English name is Condom.
-Sure enough, the boy's nickname in Chinese translates literally to condom. So he thought it was cool and picked it to be his English name. Yikes!

I was worried that you would feel disappointed with me because I am not really brave enough to pursue a big goal. And I think that it isn't really a rational affection. However, I just be turned into such a traditional girl and cannot get rid of this belief. I appreciate you very much for understanding. You are really generous to respect the idea that is opposite yours.
-A little difficult to read, but a very kind note from a student after we talked about goals in life. This student might like to be an artist of some sort, but it is not a stable career and cannot often pay for family needs. When we discussed the importance of doing work that is important to you, she really wanted to change her mind about her goals in life, but she could not. I told her I really respected her strong affection for her family, and I think doing so made a much bigger difference than trying to convince her otherwise. I think some good things were at work in this conversation, though many of the subtleties are not included here.

I am going to bed now, and I hope in my dream there is also a magical world. Of course, the handsome boy is most important, haha! Good dream!
-Ha. A girl wrote this after watching Spirited Away. Very funny.

Oh, Mr. Ross, my dear friend, I want to thank you! Thank you for giving me a chance to tell you a beautiful story in English! Before that I never thought I can do that, but you...yes, you...let me finish it. I am so happy. I want to tell you that I had a teacher I never forgot because she encouraged me to sing a song in public, and from then on I am not afraid to sing in public and I love singing. I miss her very much. Today you encouraged me to speak English and I tried to do it, and I know it is very bad, but I think I am not afraid to speak English from now on. I will keep working on my English, so I too am also a dangerous man!
-One of the students who now comes to Office Hours. The dangerous man part is in reference to a T.E. Lawrence quote that we shared with them all. Thanks, Jason.

Sincerely thank you. I will never refuse my friend's sincere words. Please trust me that my most value is friendship. We will talk more later.
-A note from a student after a disagreement of ideas. The student told me about some decisions he wanted to make, and I told him that I thought they were not good decisions. He didn't know how to handle the situation, so I told him that it was not my desire to tell him how to live his life - just to try to save him from some bad situations in the future. He really appreciated my sincerity, and I think he will make some wise decisions in the future now. So, I'm happy.

Haha, yesterday is so exciting that I dreamed Bruce Lee taught me how to fly. It sounds fun!
-So, I've started taking Kung Fu lessons, and my teacher (a student) is really excited about getting to teach a foreigner. It's a little scary at times, but it's really funny too.

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Okay, I thought I would just save these as a draft and wait for more quotes, but it's a good time for a post, and with my comments this is pretty long. So enjoy!

A Lament

Time. How is there never enough time here? I really don't understand it. But for me to keep my sanity about me, there is just never enough time to take care of all my school responsibilities, student responsibilities, rest, and still find time to email, blog, upload pictures, etc.

Oh, it's sad. Maybe you will not think so, but I certainly do. You see, there are really some great stories I would love to share on here. Some of them I'd share just to let you know what's going on with me. But some I'd like to share because they might offer some insights into life and people that you might not get in America. Poignant and pertinant, I think, especially among the church.

But, time. Time is not enough. I truly pray this will change next semester, as I will be basically repeating the work of this semester at that time. But I will have new students. We will see what life has in store.

Until then, know that things are going well. So well, in fact, that I lament the fact that I don't have time to tell you all the stories I have to share. Don't let that discourage you from telling me what's new with you, though. Even if I can't respond to you immediately, I still want to know, and I'll do my best to respond eventually :)

Favorite Quotes 1

I'm calling this Favorite Quotes "1" because I'm hoping that there will be other posts like this in the future. These quotes all came from my students. Some are funny; others very kind, and maybe a little sappy. I've only made some very minor changes to them so they can be read a little better. But some of the Chinglish I left behind for realism. I hope you enjoy. I know I have.

"Mr. Ross, you are a good teacher. You are doing a great job, and I'm very glad to be your student."

"Thank you for the way you treat us. You give me confidence many times, and I have learned a lot from you. You are a good teacher and friend, and you mean a lot to us. Keep on, Mr. Ross, we love you!"

"The radio station manager came by tonight and said you have a very sexy voice."

"Through this week's study and communication, we've seen that you are a good teacher and friend of us. You are enthusiastic, patient and friendly, sometimes like a cordial, big boy!"

"If you found yourself in a dark room, the walls around you are red and blood comes from everywhere, don't be scared - you are in my heart."

"Sometimes I feel you are not a foreigner but a Chinese friend. I am very happy to be your student."

"Mr. Ross, I think it is amazing. I can understand you so well. When you speak English, it's like you do not have an accent. When you speak Chinese, I almost think you are Chinese."

"Thank your teaching! It is very wonderful. In your class, I'm not afraid to make mistakes. So I dare to answer questions and speak English loudly."

"You have dreams and enthusiasm, unlike most professors in our college. You are a good teacher. I just want you to know that you are doing well and encourage you. I appreciate this kind of person such as you and wish you to be happy. It's true, not flattery."

"Mr. Ross, your Chinese is so standard - it is amazing! I think you have a great endowment for learning languages!"

Hahaha. I loved that last one. Really funny. And it's not too hard to see why this could build up a person's ego pretty quickly. Fortunately, I am aware that there are a lot of "kindnesses" shared in Chinese culture. So, not every compliment I receive is genuine, but even if only half of them are true, it's still pretty great.

But, it's great that, in being here, even though I have a chance to think, "Oh man, I must be the greatest thing since sliced bread," I know why I'm here. I know who brought me here and what purpose I'm here to achieve. And I know the glory is all His. So, thanks, Lord, for being who you are. I'm glad to be one of your students, too :)

A Newsletter's A Coming!

Well, hello, folks!

This will be brief, as I am still pressed for time, but I wanted to finally write something here again. It has been a busy stretch of time, as most of my stretches of time here have been. That's not a bad thing because it keeps me from being bored, but it also doesn't seem like a real reflection of life and goodness. So, I am hoping that after our retreat to Xi'an in a little over a week, I can try to be a little ahead of schedule and not have to go so day-to-day to make things work for me.

Coming to you soon will be my first newsletter. It is brief, as it's hard to say a lot in only one sheet of paper, but it gives a nice update of some things. I hope you'll enjoy it. In the meantime, I thought I'd write to say how my new teaching method is going.

This last week, I decided to change my teaching method a bit. Previously, I lectured directly on the textbook material, but I incorporated many games and challenging activities to get the students to think of the material in new ways. I wanted to see how well they could work with foreign ideas (many Chinese students do not spend much time working on problem solving skills). So, with this new approach, I have placed a lot of the learning responsibility back on the students.

Now, for each new concept we come across in our text, I decide if the concept adds value to their knowledge of understanding business, and potentially life as well. If I deem it worthy of discussion, then I have the students discuss the topic in one of several ways. Sometimes it involves acting out different situations. Sometimes they have to be the "teacher" for a little while and prepare a small discussion for the other students. Sometimes I have them take opposing sides of an argument and make them defend their side. Sometimes I have one team present an idea, and other teams can agree or disagree with their ideas. All-in-all, it really provides for some very intriguing discussions. You can truly see how their thought processes are different from our own, as they do not often go about problem solving in the way we do. It's very intriguing. And I'll be interested to see how this continues to go after more weeks of this approach.

But for now I must go play tennis with some students. But keep me accountable. I have 24 tests to finish grading before tomorrow, on top of my usual Sunday activities. Ah! Always so busy. But having a great time, too. How are you?