Recent Happenings

From Brad.

A good local friend of mine invited me and my family to an English Salon he was hosting the other night. In my worldview, a salon is a place where you get your hair cut, but apparently not so here. This was a get together with about 200 students at the university and a strange American family of 5. At first, two hosts sat us all down in front and began asking us questions similar to a talk show. People there were interested in hearing a native English speaker and learning about the American culture. It was a very interesting night. Amy and I were geared to be cautiously bold.

The very first question was, “Who is the authority and final decision maker in your home?” Wow, I thought. Then I asked Amy if I could answer the question first. She denied my request and articulately shared the Christian worldview of the home. :) Then I got asked, “oh, you’re Christians…have you ever gone on a trip and shared your beliefs?” Uh…well…you see…Amy, would you like to take over again??!! I shared that when you really love something/someone, you always tell others…the same is true in one's relationship with God. As a follow up, they asked who I loved more, God or my wife. Wow…I was expecting questions about George Bush and the Houston Rockets. But they were providing exciting and meaningful questions which we were delighted to answer.

Then the one that made my wife cry (tears of laughter). One young man stood up and said, “I hope this isn’t too personal.” (That is not a good start…) “I couldn’t help but notice that when you (Brad) walked in you had a beautiful, shiny, bald head. Please tell me what it is like to be bald.” I must admit, I was laughing pretty hard too. I proudly shared that God made me just the way he wanted me, I’m content with that, I’m thankful that I’m already married, and not a single one of my dollars has ever gone to the $5 billion dollar industry of hair growth for men. Then I sat down and pinched myself because “this can’t be really happening.”

In other news, we had a short business trip to Beijing that we enjoyed. I couldn’t resist putting in the goofy picture of Savannah, Alex and me on our way to the pool (that we later found out was closed for renovations). I went bowling for the first time in years and actually scored a 161…not bad!

We’ve now been here for almost 8 months and I must admit I’m a little discouraged that my language ability is not better. I do sense a lot of improvement in reading, pronunciation, a little in speaking, very little in hearing. Hearing a second language is a little like that children’s game at Chuck e Cheese where you have a big, padded hammer and the little moles (maybe groundhogs) shoot up out of their hole for a split second. The goal is to see, react, and slam the hammer down on them before they retreat. I feel like when people speak to me, each word is like a mole that jumps up for that split second. I might hit 5 or 6 in a row, but inevitably I eventually freeze, don’t react in time and find myself staring at a hole where the mole has already retreated to while others are popping up elsewhere. What causes the freeze? Sometimes a word I’ve never heard before, but more often a word I’ve heard, maybe even studied, but can’t put a finger on it because it is not familiar enough. By the time I figure it out, or decide to move on, the speaker has already completed another 10-15 words…oops. So much for listening comprehension. So, I am trusting that if I keep pressing on, using all the tools/resources at my disposal (and I do have plenty), I’ll continue to improve. But truth be known, I was hoping to be a little further along right now that I currently am.

Well, that’s enough for now, sorry for such a long blog. Hopefully I won’t wait another 2 months to do another.