by Amy
As you know, I LOVE mint! I found this recipe online (thanks to Jessica B!) and after tweaking it a bit, it's delightful so I thought I'd share.... Here's my version of Chocolate Mint Snowball Cookies:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoon cocoa
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
195 g. of milk chocolate (just over 1 cup of milk chocolate chips)
1.5 teaspoon peppermint extract
6 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
½ c chocolate chips
Confectioners sugar, optional
In bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; set aside. Over hot water, melt 195g. of chocolate. Stir in peppermint extract, stirring until smooth. In bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add melted chocolate and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for about 1 hour (if planning on rolling into balls and coating with sugar.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; coat with confectioners sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. (You can omit rolling through powder sugar.) Bake 10-12 minutes, until tops appear cracked. Let stand 5 minutes on cookie sheet. Cool completely. Enjoy!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Christmas Fun
By Amy
Well, this was our first Christmas in my 32 and Brad's 35 years to not celebrate with our family. Although there are some sad things that that statement implies, we did have a wonderful and blessed Christmas season. Living in a society that that has no idea why we celebrate Christmas provided some fun opportunities to share the real meaning with our friends. I actually was allowed/invited to teach about American holiday traditions in two schools -- Savannah's kindergarten and a friends' university English class. Both were really fun for me! In Savannah's school, we gave each kid a Christmas gift, The Legend of the Three Trees book in the local language. So, each of the 35+ kids in her class brought her a gift as well. And, our presentation was videoed by some local media and aired on TV a few nights ago. We also hosted a Christmas party for a couple of our college friends. They invited about 10 friends to come to our home to play games and hear the Christmas story. It was lots of fun!
Then, on Saturday, Dec. 22, we got together with our American friends here in town. We had fun singing carols and reading the Christmas story to the kids. Uncle John is by far the favorite story-teller in our world as he does tons of fun voices. Listening to him read is like listening to Adventures in Odyssey! Our kids love it! After dinner and singing, the kids watched a DVD, the guys played Settlers, while the ladies baked cookies. We baked TONS of cookies! The guys and kids went home around 10pm while the ladies kept baking... It was great! Of course we had the traditional sugar cookies that we iced and sprinkled, but on top of that we had 2 versions of a Chocolate Mint cookie, some orange chocolate chip Mexican cookies and a double batch of peanut butter stars (peanut butter cookies with a chocolate star melted in the middle.) I think we ended up heading home about 1am. It was a late night, (especially for a mom!) and I was really tired -- but it was great fun!
On Sunday, Dec. 23 we hosted the party for our college friends, and on Christmas Eve day, I went to Savannah's school. That evening we let the kids each open a present or two, read our Advent book -- all 25 days! -- and all crawled in our bed to watch a new movie together. Then, all the kids slept together in the boys' room. Brad and I sat next the the Christmas tree and enjoyed listening to Christmas music we streamed off the Internet from a Houston radio station. Christmas morning we at cinnamon rolls for breakfast! They were yummy!! Then, we opened more gifts. This year, we let our kids open a gift about twice a week during December, so as to limit the number of gifts we had on Christmas Day. But, I'm not sure it worked! They still had quite a few presents that morning! (We actually opened them next to our fallen down tree -- it crashed that morning, so all the lights and ornaments were put away before we went to bed that night! My mom would be so proud!) After letting the kids play for a while, we got bundled up and hit the street. We took all the cookies that we had made a few nights earlier and put them in little baggies to hand out to people. We had fun walking around our neighborhood giving cookies out to our friends and acquaintances. We also included a movie and little book that explained more about Christmas. Our kids loved it! Now every time we walk by the guards in our complex, the boys ask if we can give them more cookies!
When we returned home, we drank hot chocolate and ate a quick lunch. Then, the kids went down for naps while Brad and I hit the kitchen! Our special Christmas dinner was Chicken Parmesan and Green Bean Casserole followed by Jesus' birthday cake (complete with candles!) Brad made the sauce from scratch while I cooked the chicken and made the casserole -- using real French's Fried Onions, thanks to Sue! Also, while the kids were sleeping, THREE boxes arrived! So, after dinner (before cake) we opened more presents!
So, here are a few pics that capture the day for your viewing enjoyment:
Savannah's new dress from Sue! She just couldn't wait to put it on! 
A new tiger and Nemo for the boys.
Clearly Pedo didn't have much help getting dressed this day. I guess he wanted to feel festive by wearing red and green! And, how 'bout those boots -- on the wrong feet! 
About 87 people asked Savannah if she was cold since she wasn't wearing pants!
The two Thomas the Train engines sent by my parents was a favorite gift!
Jesus' birthday cake! We each got to choose our own color of icing and the topping. Brad and I chose some ROCKIN' Andies Peppermint Chips that my friend Sarah sent us. The kids chose chocolate sprinkles.
Chocolate in tummies makes for some happy kiddos!
Mmmm! Alex enjoyed his cake! After we blew out the candles, Alex, with such a concerned look on his face asked, "Why doesn't Jesus get a cake?"
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Heat
by Amy
Brad is right...soon, I will post about our Christmas fun. But, I only have a few minutes now, so I wanted to tell you about our heater. We have radiators in every room that are 'turned on' on November 5 and 'turned' off sometime in March. This is the way it is in many homes all over our city. Now, if you know Brad and me very well, you know that we fairly warm natured, so not having control over our heat did not seem appealing. So, we talked to our apt. managers and told them we don't want heat this winter. They thought we were crazy! Our house-helper thought we were crazy, and our friends that translated for us also thought we were crazy.... We just couldn't see paying for heat, then opening the windows so it could escape. When it was all said and done, the apartment manager said we would have to pay 3000 local dollars if we wanted heat and 1000 if we didn't. Yes, you read that correctly....we still have to pay, even if we don't want it! That's crazy!
Well, having never lived here in the winter, and having so many tell us how cold it would be without heat, we decided to pay the 3000 local dollars. But, before we paid, we discovered the valve -- so we have the ability to turn our heat off and on. Most people do not have access to this valve in their home (so we've been told.) So, on Nov. 5 our heat cranked on, we quickly turned it off and opened the windows as it was a beautiful fall day. Since Nov. 5 the temperatures have easily fallen below freezing, but we have not turned our heat on ONCE. Our home is SOOO warm because we have 12 floors of heat cranking below us that we often have to open our windows to let their heat out. (Brad and I regularly sleep with our window open.) Even our house-helper and other locals have commented on how warm our home is. So, all this to say, we will save ourselves 2000 local dollars next winter!
Brad is right...soon, I will post about our Christmas fun. But, I only have a few minutes now, so I wanted to tell you about our heater. We have radiators in every room that are 'turned on' on November 5 and 'turned' off sometime in March. This is the way it is in many homes all over our city. Now, if you know Brad and me very well, you know that we fairly warm natured, so not having control over our heat did not seem appealing. So, we talked to our apt. managers and told them we don't want heat this winter. They thought we were crazy! Our house-helper thought we were crazy, and our friends that translated for us also thought we were crazy.... We just couldn't see paying for heat, then opening the windows so it could escape. When it was all said and done, the apartment manager said we would have to pay 3000 local dollars if we wanted heat and 1000 if we didn't. Yes, you read that correctly....we still have to pay, even if we don't want it! That's crazy!
Well, having never lived here in the winter, and having so many tell us how cold it would be without heat, we decided to pay the 3000 local dollars. But, before we paid, we discovered the valve -- so we have the ability to turn our heat off and on. Most people do not have access to this valve in their home (so we've been told.) So, on Nov. 5 our heat cranked on, we quickly turned it off and opened the windows as it was a beautiful fall day. Since Nov. 5 the temperatures have easily fallen below freezing, but we have not turned our heat on ONCE. Our home is SOOO warm because we have 12 floors of heat cranking below us that we often have to open our windows to let their heat out. (Brad and I regularly sleep with our window open.) Even our house-helper and other locals have commented on how warm our home is. So, all this to say, we will save ourselves 2000 local dollars next winter!
My Christmas Gift to Myself (imitation Crocs)
From Brad.
Sorry for the delay, but again, this has been a very busy month. School ends for me soon and that will free up some time to catch up on things (like blogging). I'm sure Amy will soon give a detailed description of our activities over the last couple of weeks, but I thought I'd share with you my recent discovery. First of all, for the first time in my 35 years of life, my back has begun to hurt :( Not too bad, not hindering me from doing anything, but my lower back is a little sore when I sit down. So I've (like my wife) started putting little pillows behind my lower back when I sit down most everywhere. Where is this pain coming from? Hard to tell, but the main difference in my life now (compared to life in America) is I walk on hardwood floors and concrete just about everywhere. In my home, it is always with bare feet. I suspected this might be the culprit. My wife wanted to get me a $35 pair of Crocs. I was tempted to give in but just couldn't bring myself to pay so much for what probably cost them $2 to produce (somebody could get rich if they make a nice imitation Croc for about $10, one that actually looks nice). My tennis shoes are comfortable, but getting a little old. They were also a little hard to slip on and off, so I decided to switch to a new pair (which we had already bought and brought with us). Therefore, my old Reeboks became my new house slippers (after some renovation and a thorough cleaning/sanitation). They're now very easy to get on and off, and still comfortable, but I haven't noticed my back any less sore (but for the record Amy has 2 pairs of Crocs-one for inside, one for outside-and her back still constantly is sore). So...Krista...I don't want to hear any smart comments! :) For your viewing enjoyment...
Sorry for the delay, but again, this has been a very busy month. School ends for me soon and that will free up some time to catch up on things (like blogging). I'm sure Amy will soon give a detailed description of our activities over the last couple of weeks, but I thought I'd share with you my recent discovery. First of all, for the first time in my 35 years of life, my back has begun to hurt :( Not too bad, not hindering me from doing anything, but my lower back is a little sore when I sit down. So I've (like my wife) started putting little pillows behind my lower back when I sit down most everywhere. Where is this pain coming from? Hard to tell, but the main difference in my life now (compared to life in America) is I walk on hardwood floors and concrete just about everywhere. In my home, it is always with bare feet. I suspected this might be the culprit. My wife wanted to get me a $35 pair of Crocs. I was tempted to give in but just couldn't bring myself to pay so much for what probably cost them $2 to produce (somebody could get rich if they make a nice imitation Croc for about $10, one that actually looks nice). My tennis shoes are comfortable, but getting a little old. They were also a little hard to slip on and off, so I decided to switch to a new pair (which we had already bought and brought with us). Therefore, my old Reeboks became my new house slippers (after some renovation and a thorough cleaning/sanitation). They're now very easy to get on and off, and still comfortable, but I haven't noticed my back any less sore (but for the record Amy has 2 pairs of Crocs-one for inside, one for outside-and her back still constantly is sore). So...Krista...I don't want to hear any smart comments! :) For your viewing enjoyment...
I also couldn't resist posting a picture of the funny English on this bag of coffee beans. I'd love to hear your interpretation of what they are trying to say.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Fun with Neighbors
by Amy
I'm a little sad to say this, but most of our friends are English speakers.... We have a few friends that don't speak English very well, but we tend to attract (and flock to) English speakers. Since our home is very near two university campuses, we're able to find many people to befriend. But, we have a couple of neighbors, that do not speak English, that have pursued the crazy foreigners, with three munchkins, living in their building! Both have invited us to their homes, so we decided it was time to return the offer. On Thursday evening, (before our wonderful date) we went to see these two families and invite them both to eat lunch with us on Sunday afternoon....
We knocked on the first door, and the man of the home, came to the door in his long underwear. I felt a little uncomfortable, but he didn't seem to mind. He seemed thankful to get our invitation and said he'd get back to us after checking with his wife. (They later told our babysitter that they'd see us on Sunday.) Whew, one invitation down, one to go....
So, we went to the 4th floor of our building and knocked on the door. No answer...Then, beep, the elevator door opened. Some people got off and went to the door we had just knocked on...too bad they weren't our friends....good thing we didn't get there five minutes later.... So, Brad then consulted his trusty treo (palm-phone) ~ our friends actually live on the 9th floor, not the 4th. We live on the 13th. 13-9=4. That's why Brad got the 9th and 4th floors confused....He assures me it's a very logical mistake. I'm not sure I get it....
So, we find the right door on the right floor, and behind it -- we find our friend! We invite her and her family to come to our home for lunch on Sunday. She gladly accepts our invitation.
During these two conversations, in the local language, I decide Brad and I make a great team! Brad can speak well and be understood by the locals (ie-invite them to our house). His pronunciation and vocabulary far surpass mine! But, my listening comprehension is a little better than his since I listen to Leigh everyday. So when the long-underwear guy says he'll talk to his wife when she gets home and get back to us, I follow it, tell him that's great, and tell Brad what he said when we get in the elevator.
As the day approaches, I decided to ask Leigh to come to work on Sunday since we're having company and I don't know how to cook Asian food. We've invited people to show up at noon, so I ask Leigh to have lunch ready about 12:30 or so. Brad usually has a meeting on Sunday afternoons, but he moved it to Sunday morning since we were having company that afternoon. As he walks out the door, I ask, "Will you try to be home before noon?" "Of Course!" he responds. So, I have three kids, a clean house, and a couple of hours to kill. So, we get dressed and head to a little market. We buy some gloves for the kids, some little stools, and 6 pairs of indoor shoes that I need to have since we're having 6 people over. We return home about 11:20. Savannah enjoys lining all the new shoes by the door, Peter and Alex play on the new stools, and I head to the bathroom to put on my make-up and do my hair. It's 11:30, Brad should be home any minute.... Ding Dong, there's the doorbell. I ask on of the boys to let Daddy in, and one minute later, they come running, shouting, "They're here! They're here!" Sure enough, our neighbors (the long underwear guy and fam) have shown up 30 min. early! But, even though I don't have on my make-up yet, I feel fine because, at least I'm dressed....The wife, on the other hand, is wearing her PJs. Yes, they are white with small pink hearts on them. She's in her pajamas--at my house--at 11:30am! I don't get it! (Even my not-so-observant-husband noticed the jammies!)
I invite them in, introduce them to Leigh, and try to think of things to say...Where's my husband?!?!? He can handle the conversations, not me!! Well, thanks to my kids, the 20 mins we are hanging out without Brad go pretty smoothly. Savannah entertains them by showing off her room and saying all the colors on her new gloves in Asianese while Peter and Alex keep breaking parts off the new little truck our neighbors brought them. Brad shows up at 10 min. before noon -- as promised, and gladly takes over the conversing. At noon, our other neighbor show up. Soon there after, we sit down to a great meal. Leigh went all out! She spend almost 4 hours preparing the 7 or 8 dishes she sat before us. Our neighbors seemed to really enjoy it.
After lunch, including a cake that our second neighbor brought in honor of my birthday, we taught them how to play UNO. It's one game that's simple enough Brad can explain it in Asianese. After laughing quite a bit and playing a few hands, everyone went home.
Although we couldn't explain the true meaning of Christmas to our guests, we did read our Advent book (in English), and pray that they notice a difference in our home. Being with them was really motivating.... I want to study and learn this language well so that we can have more meaningful conversations and I don't panic when Brad's not here to ask questions and keep things going.
I'm a little sad to say this, but most of our friends are English speakers.... We have a few friends that don't speak English very well, but we tend to attract (and flock to) English speakers. Since our home is very near two university campuses, we're able to find many people to befriend. But, we have a couple of neighbors, that do not speak English, that have pursued the crazy foreigners, with three munchkins, living in their building! Both have invited us to their homes, so we decided it was time to return the offer. On Thursday evening, (before our wonderful date) we went to see these two families and invite them both to eat lunch with us on Sunday afternoon....
We knocked on the first door, and the man of the home, came to the door in his long underwear. I felt a little uncomfortable, but he didn't seem to mind. He seemed thankful to get our invitation and said he'd get back to us after checking with his wife. (They later told our babysitter that they'd see us on Sunday.) Whew, one invitation down, one to go....
So, we went to the 4th floor of our building and knocked on the door. No answer...Then, beep, the elevator door opened. Some people got off and went to the door we had just knocked on...too bad they weren't our friends....good thing we didn't get there five minutes later.... So, Brad then consulted his trusty treo (palm-phone) ~ our friends actually live on the 9th floor, not the 4th. We live on the 13th. 13-9=4. That's why Brad got the 9th and 4th floors confused....He assures me it's a very logical mistake. I'm not sure I get it....
So, we find the right door on the right floor, and behind it -- we find our friend! We invite her and her family to come to our home for lunch on Sunday. She gladly accepts our invitation.
During these two conversations, in the local language, I decide Brad and I make a great team! Brad can speak well and be understood by the locals (ie-invite them to our house). His pronunciation and vocabulary far surpass mine! But, my listening comprehension is a little better than his since I listen to Leigh everyday. So when the long-underwear guy says he'll talk to his wife when she gets home and get back to us, I follow it, tell him that's great, and tell Brad what he said when we get in the elevator.
As the day approaches, I decided to ask Leigh to come to work on Sunday since we're having company and I don't know how to cook Asian food. We've invited people to show up at noon, so I ask Leigh to have lunch ready about 12:30 or so. Brad usually has a meeting on Sunday afternoons, but he moved it to Sunday morning since we were having company that afternoon. As he walks out the door, I ask, "Will you try to be home before noon?" "Of Course!" he responds. So, I have three kids, a clean house, and a couple of hours to kill. So, we get dressed and head to a little market. We buy some gloves for the kids, some little stools, and 6 pairs of indoor shoes that I need to have since we're having 6 people over. We return home about 11:20. Savannah enjoys lining all the new shoes by the door, Peter and Alex play on the new stools, and I head to the bathroom to put on my make-up and do my hair. It's 11:30, Brad should be home any minute.... Ding Dong, there's the doorbell. I ask on of the boys to let Daddy in, and one minute later, they come running, shouting, "They're here! They're here!" Sure enough, our neighbors (the long underwear guy and fam) have shown up 30 min. early! But, even though I don't have on my make-up yet, I feel fine because, at least I'm dressed....The wife, on the other hand, is wearing her PJs. Yes, they are white with small pink hearts on them. She's in her pajamas--at my house--at 11:30am! I don't get it! (Even my not-so-observant-husband noticed the jammies!)
I invite them in, introduce them to Leigh, and try to think of things to say...Where's my husband?!?!? He can handle the conversations, not me!! Well, thanks to my kids, the 20 mins we are hanging out without Brad go pretty smoothly. Savannah entertains them by showing off her room and saying all the colors on her new gloves in Asianese while Peter and Alex keep breaking parts off the new little truck our neighbors brought them. Brad shows up at 10 min. before noon -- as promised, and gladly takes over the conversing. At noon, our other neighbor show up. Soon there after, we sit down to a great meal. Leigh went all out! She spend almost 4 hours preparing the 7 or 8 dishes she sat before us. Our neighbors seemed to really enjoy it.
After lunch, including a cake that our second neighbor brought in honor of my birthday, we taught them how to play UNO. It's one game that's simple enough Brad can explain it in Asianese. After laughing quite a bit and playing a few hands, everyone went home.
Although we couldn't explain the true meaning of Christmas to our guests, we did read our Advent book (in English), and pray that they notice a difference in our home. Being with them was really motivating.... I want to study and learn this language well so that we can have more meaningful conversations and I don't panic when Brad's not here to ask questions and keep things going.
Friday, December 14, 2007
My Wife's Birthday and My Crazy Little Girl
From Brad.
Okay, direct quote from my Savannah, "Mom, when you were a little girl, did you ever wish you could start your whole life over?" Oh my, is our home that depressing of a place to live? She's 5 1/2 and ready for a 12 step group.
My lovely wife turned a young 32 today. I can't say I had a ton of great ideas since over the last 7 months we have been busy finding and purchasing everything we need/want for our new home. So I figured the best thing I could do is give her the morning away to read her new book in a relaxing spot. She did just that and then met us for lunch where we showered her with presents. Later while the kids slept, we watched a movie, and then a babysitter came over to give us a night away at an Italian restaurant. The evening was full of deep, meaningful conversation where I shared my innermost feelings and connected with my wife. :)
Only for a brief 5 minutes did I mention the Astros latest shakeup where they gave away their minor league system for a known steriod user who is on the decline. Ah, but I digress...
It was a nice day. Pictured is my troubled little girl and 20 roses I bought for my wife today for about $6 (the vase is a good 10 lbs and a gift as well).
Okay, direct quote from my Savannah, "Mom, when you were a little girl, did you ever wish you could start your whole life over?" Oh my, is our home that depressing of a place to live? She's 5 1/2 and ready for a 12 step group.
My lovely wife turned a young 32 today. I can't say I had a ton of great ideas since over the last 7 months we have been busy finding and purchasing everything we need/want for our new home. So I figured the best thing I could do is give her the morning away to read her new book in a relaxing spot. She did just that and then met us for lunch where we showered her with presents. Later while the kids slept, we watched a movie, and then a babysitter came over to give us a night away at an Italian restaurant. The evening was full of deep, meaningful conversation where I shared my innermost feelings and connected with my wife. :)
Only for a brief 5 minutes did I mention the Astros latest shakeup where they gave away their minor league system for a known steriod user who is on the decline. Ah, but I digress...It was a nice day. Pictured is my troubled little girl and 20 roses I bought for my wife today for about $6 (the vase is a good 10 lbs and a gift as well).
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
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.
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.
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