Teammate Tuesday: Tiffany

Our team has spent a significant amount of time talking about things. Expectations, strengths, weaknesses, what makes us tick, what we love, and other things of the like. One strong conclusion can be drawn about Team Harbin: we like to party. Dan, our team leader, was able to summarize quite well what the extent of that will look like after analyzing each of the girls and their strengths. “Kayla will gather the community for the party, Lauren will plan the party, Laura will provide the entertainment for the party, and Tiffany will pray for the party.” Well done, Dan. Well done.

It is my honor and pleasure to introduce you to Tiffany France, our Mung Bean of team Harbin. Now, you’re probably asking “what the heck is a mung bean?” I’ll let Tiffany tell you: “Mung beans appear in the basic earth tones (greens, browns, and blacks... very much like my wardrobe); they have a thick skin (it takes a lot to 'get to me'); and they are found in India where they are used to make curries and dal (things I loved and have missed eating since my time in Nepal last summer). Mung bean. That's me.”

Tiffany hails from Fort Collins, Colorado, but studied at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. This often leads for a brief identity crisis every time Tiffany is asked ‘where are you from?’ [of which I can understand completely]. She received a B.A. is Religious Studies, and Team Harbin will soon be celebrating her birthday on September 8^th {our first real opportunity to give our party-skills a try}.

Tiffany is a lover of all punny jokes...yes, the jokes with the 'puns' in them. Tiffany’s favorite M&M’s are the peanut ones; similarly, her favorite cookies are peanut butter. Her favorite food so far has been Baozi (steamed buns with cooked and seasoned pork inside, dipped in soy sauce), and her favorite movie is 'Sabrina' (the one with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond). “It is a beautiful story, the dialog is fantastically witty, and the soundtrack is soothing to my heart and soul.” As far as favorite fast food, “it's a toss-up between Taco Bell, McDonald's, Chic-fil-A, and Sonic. Unless I'm in Texas, where the answer is obviously Taco Cabana.”

“Once when I was a child I passed out at Disney World after getting my hand stuck in the metal siding of an escalator. They took me to the hospital in an ambulance and gave me a Donald Duck stuffed animal. Totes worth it.”  If Tiffany had to eat any color crayon, she would choose purple merely because purple tastes so good.

One thing that I certainly love and appreciate about Tiffany is that she is a fellow choir junkie and lover of Eric Whitacre. Thus, we are constantly found humming and singing. “I love to sing, I love to write, and I love talking with people.”  [actually, in reality our entire team loves music which will make for super awesome times…now we just need to find a piano.] Tiffany says “"If I had a million dollars..." is the name of a song I enjoy singing.” When asked about meeting someone famous or fictional, Tiffany replied “in this season of my life, I would like to meet Maria Jane Taylor. She is less well-known than her husband, but I would love to sit and talk with her, listening to her stories, and soaking in the wisdom she accrued through her experiences following Him with her husband.” Most importantly, Tiffany would like the world to know that “eternity in the presence of the One who has made us is the opposite of boring. Words more appropriate than boring include: delightful, endlessly surprising, beautiful, awesome, breathtaking, overwhelming, peaceful, inviting,... home.”

 

On a more personal note, Tiffany is one incredible woman not only in faith, but in her ability to relate to everyone, provide a smile, and reassurance of peace. Have you ever experienced those conversations where you can do nothing but nod your head and say “me too…me too… me too!” Those have happened a time or two. Tiffany says “I am really excited to see what happens as the year unfolds, revealing the unexpected, unforeseeable relationships and events that will come to shape and define this year for each of us. There is something thrilling in the mystery of the unknown, and I am currently basking in the glory and peace that comes with knowing that: He already knows what is to come, and it will be better and more challenging than I would dare imagine.”

Tiffany also wants to let you know that “I really love Kayla!! To all the people who are missing her dearly: Thank you for sharing her with us and with everyone she will meet this year! She is a blessing, and I'm so grateful to have her as a teammate, friend, and sister. :)”

Retail Therapy

We received word that the lighting situation in our future apartments resembles that of a prison with single hanging bulbs. We also received word that despite the fact that we’ll have access to four Wal-Marts, it is impossible to find any source of lighting larger than a desk lamp [Wal-Mart takes on a whole new role in China; stay tuned for a blog about Wal-Mart adventures].

Some members of Team Harbin and a newfound friend, Jeremiah, took a day trip to the other side of Beijing. Some time walking, and 2 bus rides {and our first double-decker bus!} we were graced with the looming presence and glory of perhaps the greatest thing Sweden has ever contributed to the world—IKEA. Now, Rochester (or Harrisburg for that matter) has not been deemed important enough for IKEA to share with consumers. Most of these stores are only found in larger metroplolises...of which Rochester (and Harrisburg) are not. However, Beijing is home to the second largest IKEA in the world (the largest of which being in the motherland of Sweden).

Your eyes do not deceive you, that IS a fork.

The journey itself was tiring enough, taking two hours to cross the city. Refueling was definitely necessary, and this massive IKEA happened to come fully equipped with a café and restaurant. Cuisine included salmon wraps, kung pao chicken, cinnamon rolls, and even spaghetti and meat sauce (which to my American taste buds looked exceedingly tempting). However, the dish that I {and everyone else} chose to get came prepared with a golden ticket…mashed potatoes. Let’s talk about a momma’s kitchen comfort food. My taste buds were exceedingly happy.

The best part of the day was something that couldn’t be captured in a picture. The 3^rd floor of Beijing’s IKEA is purposely set up as a showroom, glimpses into what could be. Its often been said that dating Chinese couples will go to IKEA for a date and ‘play house’ in the show rooms. The 3^rd floor also becomes rather busy during the daily lunch hour where everyday citizens will “test out” the beds and take naps {truly, the Chinese have a gift at being able to sleep anywhere}. Upon making our way through the floor in search of our lamps we passed a showroom of a child’s bedroom. Of course it looked as though it popped out of a magazine but there was something not quite the norm.  There, in the back of the room, tucked in the bed was a little girl, dressed in her pajamas reading a book to her grandmother who sat beside in a rocking chair. It was so cute!

We meandered our way to the lamps with aisle after aisle of cool and fashionable options, designs, and prices. I mean it! The things that we were able to find were the equivalent of $10 US dollars for awesome lamps! We eventually ended up with a cart like this…

Lauren showing love to the lamps.

After paying for our products we took them over to the home delivery center which was another journey in and of itself. Newsflash: We don’t really speak Chinese and we needed to ship these belongings hundreds of miles north: a great time to have a language barrier. The lamps were all put in a huge box—I’m talking a box that kids can crawl through and play ‘tunnel’—a box that I and a friend could fit in and ‘chill’ if we so desired. We don't really know if we properly communicated our address, or put down all the necessary information the sales representative was asking for, but we do know that it cost us only 375 kui [$62.50] to ship. Here’s hoping [and Lifting Up] that our box of lamps will actually make it to Harbin.

Team Harbin all dolled up and blurry-eyed after our Commissioning Service

We will be departing Beijing bright and early Monday morning (I haven’t seen 5am in awhile) on a day train to our new city. Our new home. We don’t know what things are going to look like, or when we’ll have internet, but rest assured—whether or not our IKEA box ever makes it to Heilongjiang East College—we’ll have Light with us no matter what.

Teammate Tuesday: Laura

Having a team here in China is so crucial to our mental, emotional, and spiritual well being. I have been so excited to cross paths and share life with six new people in these past weeks; I think that it's so important that you get to know them as well. We are the members of Team Harbin, lovingly known as "The Bean Team". Because of us, the phrase 'cool beans' takes on a whole new meaning. Being that we are the bean team and being that it is absolutely frigid in Harbin, we are quite literally "cool beans."

I am pleased to introduce you to Laura Baker our Cocoa Bean on the bean team. Laura is the first team member that I ever skyped with prior to coming to China, and we already have a ton of shared memories. My favorite memory with Laura was on her birthday when our whole team celebrated at KTV {Chinese Karaoke}. There was a period of time when Beyonce's "Single Ladies" was played and a whole new being came over Laura. She embraced the spirit [and the dance moves] of Beyonce like no other.

Laura hails from the city of Atlanta, Georgia. She graduated this past May from Berry College with a B.S. in Economics. We recently celebrated Laura's birthday on August 11, which was quite a blast. So far, the top Chinese food has been pineapple chicken. Laura's M&M's of choice would be peanut butter, and cookie of choice would be Snicker doodles [or chocolate chip]. "My favorite movie would be Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants because it makes me think of my college friends. We watched it multiple times a week last year." Unfortunately for Laura, Chick-Fil-A has yet to make it's way to China, so she'll have to wait another year to enjoy her favorite fast food place.

Laura is super excited about being in China. She is most excited about meeting the students, growing closer to the team and just experiencing life in a new culture. Laura has an incredible story, especially because how she got here is so "random" {even though we know it's not so 'random' at all}. Laura spends her time doing art & crafts ("I love making things"), swimming, and dancing her butt off. If she was forced to eat any color crayon, she would eat the color 'Macaroni & Cheese'. "Who doesn't love noodles smothered in cheesy goodness?"

Laura says "I want the world to know that I am loud and proud of it! If I had a million dollars, I would buy every song I have ever wanted on iTunes, buy my dad a new house, throw a huge party for all my friends and give the rest to the American Cancer Society." If Laura could meet any person from history she would pick Mother Theresa. "She is awesome and super cool and lived an amazing life and I just want to sit and drink coffee with her." 

"I'll never forget. Once when I was a child my little brother, Zac, and I were mad at my older brother, Jake, so we took all his Hot Wheels cars and tried to flush them down the toilet. It didn't work as planned. Needless to say, the toilet exploded with water and toy cars so Zac and I were the ones to really get in trouble." Laura has a wonderful sense of humor and can be sure to put a smile on your face with her crazy faces. I'm looking forward to the many more stories that she and I will get to share!

Life on Life

Nowhere in the world can you go to a market, a super Walmart or Wegmans and pick up a "bottle of joy." It simply can't be done. Joy comes from experiences, from living life.

The other night our team had an opportunity to experience the real china. "Well wait, Kayla, you've been there for three weeks already." The other night our team had the opportunity to experience life on life. Thus far we've been going places, eating things, and brushing past the millions and millions of faces. Everyone heading to a destination, everyone in transit. We were venturing out of our three-block-radius, to a real China town {except that in Beijing, every side street is a 'real China town'}. We ventured not to the street vendor at their job, not to the bus stop where people are bustling, and not to the tourist destination where people are taking pictures. We ventured to the near by park where people were simply living life.

The place was scurrying with life, children, puppies, old men, mothers, grandparents. There was a playground and exercise equipment for the general public, boys playing hackiesak and girls chasing each other on scooters. We came upon lines and lines of dozens of Chinese women, young and old, living life together in the park. Dancing. As if there was some invisible magnetic force, the women from Team Harbin created a 'new back row'. We were pulled into the mystique and splendor, carefully watching those in front of us, mimicking their every move. “Graceful” would not describe us for the first few minutes, but we soon got the hang of what was going on. We quickly learned that these dances were similar to American line dances, meaning that while we thought we were safe in the back, we soon became the front line, clueless, and leading the way, and drawing quite the crowd. [You quickly adjust to people pointing at you, staring at you, and talking loudly about you in a language you don't understand.]

The puppies, the children, all flitting between our lines, some on scooters, some playing tag, as we laughed, twirled, and step-ball-changed our way in the park. We were soon joined by the men from our team as well. Yes, video footage was taken, I'm sure you'll be seeing it at some point in the future. The leader of the dance approached us afterward, asking us to come back {heck yes, we will!}. Our team was quick to agree that finding a local park in Harbin is top on the priority list so that we may partake in Chinese life, experience the dance, and share {and also receive} pure joy. One thing is for sure: after our experience in the park, we are no longer excited to be in China, we are ever more excited to live in China. 

Team Harbin & the children who were so excited to practice their English.

Forever a Blessing

In my short twenty something years I already have buckets and buckets of memories and moments that I’ll never forget.

• Picking peppers in Pappy’s garden
• Watching the news on September 11, 2001 after I got home from school
• Being in Footloose my senior year of high school
• Tubing down the Yellow Breeches with my Reslife staff in the freezing cold water
• Planning for and participating in Bachlaurate service at Messiah.

...just to name a few.

There was a special part of the Messiah College graduation that will forever cause a smile, and that is the placement of a simple flower by my cap—a running joke amongst my friends and I which evidently landed my picture in various Harrisburg newspapers. This flower has come to represent me, my personality, and that little “special touch” that makes those around me sigh and smile {or roll their eyes}. “Oh, Kayla.” Obviously, the flower was a ‘definite’ amongst the China packing list.

On our first day in China we were cut loose to roam Beijing and to complete the Beijing Amazing Race (which is more like a photo-scavenger hunt.) Obviously the hot pink flower is a must for any hair-do, as it automatically puts one in a better mood after jetlag. My team hiked our way over to Tienanmen Square, trying to complete the race. We’re searching and searching for the things we need pictures of when we are approached by a Chinese man who speaks very good English. He told us about this structure before us that was very ‘old china’ and intrigued, we decided to take a tour.

We’re exploring and we’re up on the 4^th floor where you can buy prayers. The walls are covered with red decorated discs, each signifying a prayer that someone had paid for. I’m talking like, bee-hive bundles of prayers coating the wall. We were approached by a 25-26 year old woman who was explaining/pushing us to buy prayers. Our team leader, knowing a little bit of Chinese, was able to tell us what she was saying. "Family, money, health, test scores, prosperity", all things of what you can purchase a prayer for. We declined and instead started wandering as a group. My team quickly noticed that three Chinese woman (including the one who was selling to us) started following me rather closely, giggling and blushing. I smiled back and tried to engage in some simple (and pitiful) Chinese. One of the women motioned to her hair, so I mirrored her. My hand landed where the flower was placed in my hair. They all happily smiled that they effectively communicated, and I smiled too. I took it out to show them and they gathered around. Cultural Mistake #1 (actually, probably 254 but this was the first major one), I handed it to our saleslady with two hands. Her jaw dropped and the other two ladies began jumping up and down and scurried her a few feet away where they began trying to position the barrette in her hair. They laughed and smiled and were completely giddy.

I turned back around to my team and said “I don’t think Im getting my flower back”. They too all had their jaws dropped at the encounter and were slowly nodding their heads in agreement, watching the scene behind me. After a few moments of silence, Tiffany took a step closer to me, still watching the scene behind me,  and said “but Kayla, you cant see what I see right now, and the joy that you just brought that woman will probably last her the rest of the year." I slowly turned around and saw that our saleslady was looking at herself in a mirror, playing with the flower, twirling as a bride-to-be would when trying on wedding dresses. For a few more minutes we watched her float around the fourth floor, skipping to and fro, and proudly displaying her new gift for everyone. Temporary heartbreak; forever a blessing.

You will no longer see that pink flower in any of my pictures because it is no longer in my possession… it’s new home is somewhere in Beijing.

Babel

Dear China,

What’s your story? You have thousands of years of history that I can’t even begin to comprehend and even in the “here and now”, any conclusion I seem to draw is quickly overridden.

You hold massive cities and massive apartment buildings that seem to touch the sky. They are homes to millions, your streets home to millions more. I want to know your people, I want to hear their stories. Some have succeeded and some are struggling. All have a story, and I want to listen. But there’s this language that stands in the way. {Curse you Babel.} I know that your people have hopes and dreams, lives and families, love and war raging inside, but since I don’t know what they speak it is easy to build a natural barrier. It is easy to forget that they too are human. It is easier to do nothing when you don’t know, than when you are informed and then have a choice.

To be roaming down the streets of NYC and see a boy wandering, screaming for his mother;

I have a choice to assist, or not. I can do something about the situation because I understand.

To be roaming down the streets of Beijing and see a boy wandering, screaming in Chinese with a sorrowful look on his face.

How do I know that he is lost or merely playing with his friends on the street? It is far easier to pass by and hope for the best.

China, I know you are going to teach me a lot very quickly, but sometimes there are things that I just want to know now… like your language. I don’t want to take the easy road, I want to understand. Unfortunately I have this thing working against me where basically learning your language is the hardest thing ever. So to you, China, I sing a great song that I grew up with, from the wise words of the creators of Disney's Tarzan (and Phil Collins)

"Whatever you do, I'll do it too
Show me everything and tell me how
It all means something
And yet nothing to me.

I can see there's so much to learn
It's all so close and yet so far
I see myself as people see me
Oh, I just know there's something bigger out there

I wanna know, can you show me?
I wanna know about these strangers like me
Tell me more, please show me
Something's familiar about these strangers like me "

I realize I’m coming from America, where life is so incredibly fast paced, so I’m willing to slow down for you. I’m already learning things such as how

tears, laughter, and a smile are universal.

I’m ready for lesson #2.

And China, no matter what, know that I love you.

Sincerely yours,

*kayla marie 

"Shower"

One of the highlights of my senior year of college was attempting to complete a bucket list with my best friend Kate. For as silly as this may sound, this was no ordinary bucket list. This list was complied of 64 movies, all of which had been nominated for an Oscar in “Best Picture” within the past 10 years. The thinking and rationale was that if a movie was nominated for a ‘best picture of the year award’, it had to be good or have some value. We soon learned that this was not always the case, however it did make for many weekends of movie marathons, trips to the library to rent the DVD’s, and many a popped bag of popcorn.

I have seen many a movie in my life—not only this past semester but also at home (we’re a big movie family). While here in China we have had the opportunity to watch {required} movies that give us glimpses into Chinese culture, society, and history. I have now been exposed to a movie that I highly recommend for all to see. As our coordinator put it, we refer to it as a “dramaody” (drama & comedy), and possesses a storyline that crosses a multitude of cultures and generations.

The movie is called “Shower”. Yes, it is a Chinese film. Yes, you would have to watch it with English subtitles. This story touches two very sensitive areas of my heart: the Chinese people and those who are mentally handicapped. The story is about a man and his two sons, one of which is mentally handicapped. He is the owner of a bath house (a place where people communally bathe; that’s how it’s done in China) and due to the reconstruction of Beijing, they are forced to move and uproot their lives for something new.

This is a story that will certainly bring you joy, warm your heart, and display a large chunk of Chinese family and history. Now, be warned, I would probably rate this movie as a PG-13 movie for the inclusion of a few choice words and some of the general material. However, it is definitely a new favorite of mine that I would love to pass along. Grab some friends, grab some popcorn, and have a fun night!

Brief Realities

It is amazing that each day, world wide, is only 24 hours. We are currently closing day 7 here in Beijing and there is already a bucketful of stories to draw from. I’ll get to those later…

Yes, Arabic and Chinese on the same sign.

We are now in the process of beginning our graduate classes, which makes for long days with a lot of information comin’ at us really fast. However throughout all of this craziness Team Harbin {self-titled the “cool bean team”…get it? Har-BEAN, and its cold there??} has had an abundance of time to hang out, laugh, and meander our way throughout this great city. My last journey to China brought me to the province of Ningxia, world capital of the great bowl of noodles. The other day my team and I had an opportunity to eat at a Hui Muslim restaurant; this so very much reminded me of my last journey here. First of all, the cuisine is so very different and my taste buds were so very happy to have mutton (lamb) the only way that it should be prepared; the Hui know what they’re doing! I had every intention of sharing the beauty of the noodles with you, but I set my camera down to receive the dish from our fuyen {waitress}. By the time I remembered to pick it up again…well, this was all that remained.

We spent most of the afternoon learning about the beautiful {and powerful} history of the Chinese Church, from which every single person walked away with a new perspective, myself included. After being so encouraged from our massive history lecture the day continued to get better! One of the things we have all quickly adjusted to (and love) is public transportation-particularly the bus. Upon waiting at the bus stop a young Chinese couple approached to stand in ‘line’ (lines/cues are relative in China, its more like a mob everywhere you go). The woman was carrying a rather large bouquet of roses and white flowers. A co-teacher of mine looked at the flowers and mumbled to me “well Happy Valentines Day.”

“Thank you very much” we heard in perfectly clear English. {please note, you quickly get adjusted to people not being able to understand what you’re saying. Therefore having someone actually respond becomes quite a shock.}

My friend asked the woman a question in Chinese.

“We have been together for five years”

“Where did you meet?”

“In college.”

“Where did you study?”

“We went to college in Harbin”

In my head it was like I had won the Price is Right. We continued to talk about college, teaching English (“you will be uh, very cold teacher in Harbin”…awesome), and about the potential of the couple getting married (“Perhaps in one or two years. It is very expensive to live.”)

This was a very exciting interaction for many different reasons. For me it became real that people actually live in Harbin. This is the real deal. For my team members this was a first time getting to interact with a Chinese national who could speak more English than ‘hello’ and their numbers.

It truly has been fun getting to talk to my teammates about their first impressions of this country and their first experiences. On the left column, I have linked those who have blogs. Feel free to check them out if you have time! We’re currently trapped in the bubble of training, which will soon be popped. Please lift up that we will be ready for all that is to come, as it is coming sooner than we think. Also, some of my team members are feeling rather under the weather with fevers and internal organs that are not cooperating to the change of food and lifestyle. Health would be a good thing to have, especially in these crazy times.

~sunshine ... even though we never see the sun in Beijing.

Whaddup China?

Flight delays, questionable airplane food, glorious 'welcome parties', jetlag, watching the sun rise. 

Thirty four hours

One glorious city

Hello Beijing!

We are all finally here safe and sound, with Wes arriving a mere 6 hours ago (he and another missed the international flight and enjoyed an extra 24 hours at the LAX airport). China so far has been everything that I remembered it to be. I didn't realize what joy I would receive from watching others experience the beauty for the fist time; Driving from the airport and hearing the 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from fellow teammates on the bus with the realization of reality sinking in. As jetlag wears off, the reality of "we are in China" is sinking in more and more for them, which is {did I mention} super fun to watch. What fun it has been to be reunited with my organizations personal whom I haven't seen in over a year. What fun it is to visit the local "Wu Mart" {yes, you heard me right}. How awesome to eat and experience a Chinese restaurant again. So far, no one has gotten sick, and our collective chopstick skills have exponentially advanced.

I had forgotten...

• how Chinese women wear crazy heels...everywhere.
• how it is socially acceptable for men to walk anywhere, shirtless on a hot day...or better yet, half way rolled up.
• The crazy "Chinglish" that is plastered all about the cities.
• How Chinese people have no shame in staring, and they will stare at you, and watch everything you do.
• The delicious[?] flavors of potato chips that are offered in the marts. {These include yet are not limited to Blueberry, French Chicken, Lemon Tea, Hot & Sour Fish Soup, Lobster & Cheddar. yum?}

Basically the general jist is that we have gotten here safe and {partially} sound, I have now made 40 instant friends, and Team Harbin is going to rock. Training is going to fly, during which we will be learning about Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) methodology, Chinese Culture and Customs and Teaching Practices for the classroom.

This is the real deal. In quoting a dear friend of mine "it's go time."

~sunshine