#10 by Jake
I am loving a song from a mixed C.D. that my brother, Jake, gave me. (This is Betsy--I also have an older brother named Jake). I don't know the name of the song or the artist so I call it number 10 by Jake. I am hoping that he will figure out which song I am talking about it and "comment" on the blog what song it is, so that others can enjoy. It's the one that starts out "Its 16 miles to the promise land..." and there are multiple people singing in the chorus. Do you know the one, Jake? I've got it on repeat.
So, tonight was the great foriegn teachers BBQ. There were quite a few of us out there, lots of new faces. Ed organized lots of food and a keg of beer. We had mostly Americans, but we also had an Aussie and an Irishman. The Australian man brought a female Chinese friend who's internet boyfriend had just arrived in China from New York. He was experiencing culture shock and really enjoyed the ease of speaking English, I think. His Chinese girlfriend, who he has been communicating with for months, but just met a few days ago speaks limited English.
Josh and I helped Ed put all the meat and veggies on skewers. Ed tried to get charcoal going, but wasn't having much success. Luckily, he had two former Nature's Classroom members nearby who were happy to make that fire roar, teaching the onlookers that it needed...oxygen!
Before Josh knew it, he was in charge of all the grilling that took place. He had chicken breasts and kbobs going all night. I haven't seen Josh eat meat in the year that I have known him until we got to China. It's as if all his years of vegetarianism have prepared him for a meat eating frenzy here. Yesterday he ate mutton and bacon, and today he was not only eating chicken but grilling it for the whole party of 40. All night, people were coming up and asking for meat. It was difficult for Josh to keep track of who had asked in what order. When it would occur to him, he would say "oh, sorry, I promised you one, didn't I?" A German woman was hovering nearby with her empty plate. She hadn't really made it known that she was wanting some meat, but she heard Josh mention these "promises" to people for kbobs. Finally, she came over and said in a thick German accent "To whom do you promise??". I thought she might be kidding until I saw her face. Josh just stared with his mouth open ready to join in laughing when she smiled. But she angry. She put her plate down and left. We never saw her at the party again. She lives two floors above us.
There were about three retired couples out tonight from the American midwest. They were very friendly and talkative. I believe they are also here to teach through a Christian organization, as about 70% of the Foriegn teachers I have met are. We also got to meet a lot of people our age who are here independantly. Most of them have been here for two or more years and speak great Chinese. Its so fun to listen to them. Hopefully, we will be seeing more of them.
So, tonight was the great foriegn teachers BBQ. There were quite a few of us out there, lots of new faces. Ed organized lots of food and a keg of beer. We had mostly Americans, but we also had an Aussie and an Irishman. The Australian man brought a female Chinese friend who's internet boyfriend had just arrived in China from New York. He was experiencing culture shock and really enjoyed the ease of speaking English, I think. His Chinese girlfriend, who he has been communicating with for months, but just met a few days ago speaks limited English.
Josh and I helped Ed put all the meat and veggies on skewers. Ed tried to get charcoal going, but wasn't having much success. Luckily, he had two former Nature's Classroom members nearby who were happy to make that fire roar, teaching the onlookers that it needed...oxygen!
Before Josh knew it, he was in charge of all the grilling that took place. He had chicken breasts and kbobs going all night. I haven't seen Josh eat meat in the year that I have known him until we got to China. It's as if all his years of vegetarianism have prepared him for a meat eating frenzy here. Yesterday he ate mutton and bacon, and today he was not only eating chicken but grilling it for the whole party of 40. All night, people were coming up and asking for meat. It was difficult for Josh to keep track of who had asked in what order. When it would occur to him, he would say "oh, sorry, I promised you one, didn't I?" A German woman was hovering nearby with her empty plate. She hadn't really made it known that she was wanting some meat, but she heard Josh mention these "promises" to people for kbobs. Finally, she came over and said in a thick German accent "To whom do you promise??". I thought she might be kidding until I saw her face. Josh just stared with his mouth open ready to join in laughing when she smiled. But she angry. She put her plate down and left. We never saw her at the party again. She lives two floors above us.
There were about three retired couples out tonight from the American midwest. They were very friendly and talkative. I believe they are also here to teach through a Christian organization, as about 70% of the Foriegn teachers I have met are. We also got to meet a lot of people our age who are here independantly. Most of them have been here for two or more years and speak great Chinese. Its so fun to listen to them. Hopefully, we will be seeing more of them.
posted by B | 5:16 AM
1 Comments:
Betsy!,
"It's sixteen miles to the promise land and I promise you I'm doing the best I can." That's Rilo Kiley's "With Arm's Outstretched" (from her CD "the Execution of all Things"). It's one on my favorites too.
I love reading your daily blog. I wish I had as many interesting stories to tell. Be safe and have fun.
-Jake
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