Tuesday Morning Image

Spring time has arrived in Harbin. The weather is warming into the 30-40s most days now. And instead of spring time rain, we get spring snow! Please remember everyone as they travel about the city. The snow melts during the day, but freezes again each night.

Volume 3, Issue 3

Spring time is here! Well actually, the weather is warm one day then snowy the next. The constant change reminds us of the crazy weather back home. Today’s full of snow and next week will be quite warm (35-40 degrees). Each time we walk out in the snow, we are reminded how much we love living here in Harbin. Then we remember each and every one of you who have encouraged and supported us as we work here. We can’t wait to see you guys this summer and share all that’s been going on in this city.



Harbin 2009 – 24th Winter Universiade

“A passionate Winter Universiade in glamorous Harbin China” was on the banners that were all over town. Harbin hosted the Winter Universiade during February for student athletes from all over the world. At first we were a little skeptical about the “international-ness” of the event, but we were surprise to learn the event was truly international.

We jumped at our first chance to watch live sporting events China and immediately researched the event times and locations. A few text messages and emails later, we booked tickets to watch Canada vs. China men’s ice hockey game. The game was on the birthday of a Canadian teacher at another school here in Harbin. Both he and our Canadian teammates were just as excited as us to see live hockey.

Once in the arena, freshly painted for the Universiade, the stands were packed with 3,000 people cheering for the host country. We remained neutral through most of the match, but couldn’t help but cheer for China as the final minutes ticked off the clock hoping for one last chance for a goal. Final score, Canada 13 – China 0.

One event just wasn’t enough to satisfy our appetite for live sporting events and we were determined to watch another event. Back to the ticket office to purchase more tickets, this time women’s figure skating. We really got our money’s worth with this one as we watched over 4 hours of skating, 28 competitors, and a bonus event at the end, synchronized skating.

Synchronized skating is like cheerleaders on ice or synchronized swimming on top of the frozen water where 18 skaters (I would say women but Team Russia did have one man) take the ice for a synchronized routine. Who knew?



The excitement of the Winter Universiade really pumped us up for the beginning of the semester. We realized how much we love China, the people here, and especially the crazy randomness of life.

BREAKING NEWS: Schedule Change

The semester began on Monday, March 2nd like any other semester, full of butterflies to meet the new students and hopefulness that the lesson plans with not flop. So with that I entered the classroom to begin teaching my Selected Readings of British Literature class to junior level students. When I entered the first classroom, I knew immediately that something was not right. I noticed that all my students had a blue textbook on their desks titled “Readings in American Literature”! What a way to begin the semester!

We called the deans, department chairs and talked with the students and indeed found the course was to teach both American and British literature! OK, I can do that. So I made the plan and went back to class Tuesday. By Sunday, the course had been changed back to British Literature only. I informed the students and am finally ready to move forward.

But wait, this just in…the foreign affairs office has a new schedule for our teachers. Another teacher on our team is teaching my Literature class (because of his love for literature) I am now teaching Advanced Oral English beginning Monday, March 16th. I am really excited and hopefully can finally settle into the routine of planning lessons and teaching. But I just never know!!

Happy Birthday M'Lynn!!

We hosted a birthday celebration for M’Lynn’s birthday. The dinner doubled as a Texas Independence Day meal for our teammates. We pounded out Chicken Fried Steak, mashed potatoes, corn, and for dessert, chocolate pie. Some of our teammates had never had Chicken fried steak! We considered it absolute that they have it and made them promise to order one if they were ever in a restaurant in Texas!

We never realized we had everything we needed for the meal. But now that we know, we’ll be having this meal again, hopefully soon.

Misc. Others

New Website: Our company just launched a brand new website. Check it out to learn more about the work here in China! We are excited about the work and want to share this new resource with you!

Kanyon News: He weighs in at 12 kg and is getting into more and more things. He recently learned to climb on the couch and sit (well really stand and reach for everything he knows he’s not supposed to have. He had be grumpy lately because he’s working on getting more molars. Rib eye steak, here he comes! He still doesn’t speak much (English or Chinese) but can say Daddy in two languages, “dada” and “baba.” Yet he doesn’t say “mama,” except when he’s hungry.

Return to the States: We are setting our return this summer to the US for June 28th. We are excited to see each of you during the two months we are home. We’ll try to get in contact with you guys to set up some times you are available and free to say hi and thank you for all your support!

Six hours of fun for 100 RMB

The 24th Winter Universiade are coming to a close here in Harbin so we went to check out one last event, the ladies' figure skating finals.



The event was great. (though I should probably let the lady describe all the outfits, routines, dances, and music) I will say the event was not too bad. Although the first couple of performances were lacking, the top performers were definitely good at skating. We got our money's worth as we watched skating from 2:30-8:30 PM, saw the Zamboni 3 times, and a new event described later.

Kanyon was the hit of the show. From the moment we found our seats near the top of the arena, all eyes were on Kanyon. He flirted with the girls around him, received a toy car from a stranger, and was even offered some chocolate candy. We learned later the chocolate candy was more than just chocolate as it was filled with liquor. (Good thing he only ate one candy. He did take a nap shortly after this too, coincidence?)



The show of the night was actually something we didn't know existed, synchronized skating. 16 skaters (I would say ladies, but Team Russia did have one guy) took the ice and performed their routine, much like a drill team or cheerleaders on ice. We then picked up some souvenirs like a good foreign tourist and headed out into the cold to return home. (FYI the temp that night was -8 with a wind chill of -21, by far the coldest night we have been out in.)

Tuesday Morning Image

Every time we head outside to any event, we are the center of attention. Added to the fact that we are foreigners, we have a baby, we are extraordinarily tall, and we speak English. All these make us stick out here everywhere we go. I am reminded that I should always stand out everywhere as a follow of Him. Please remember all our brothers and sisters (ourselves included) around the globe to always stand out for Him.

Canada 13, China 0

We went to a live sporting event for the first time in China. It was great getting back into the crowd and watching the hockey players go at it. We were watching Canada play China in ice hockey and we cheering for both teams. We have Canadian friends and of course we love China too. The place would go nuts each time China has a remote chance to score.



Read the summary of the game as reported online.

CAN - CHN 13-0 (2-0, 8-0, 3-0)
Host China, clearly motivated by the near capacity crowd of 2,200 at the Skating Gym of the Heiljongjang Institute for Physical Education, could withhold most of the attacks of title defender Canada only allowing two goals in the first period. However, they slacked in the second and the Canadians took advantage of their weakness and lit the backlight eight times. In the last period the Canucks drilled another three past goalie Xie Ming. (original article here)



The game wasn't even close, but the Chinese goalie did a great job of competing. He was under constant attack by the Canadian offense.

We enjoyed the game so much we might go back for more. But for now the next event on tap is some ladies figure skating finals.

Frozen Soft Serve

We were walking around outside yesterday on a day much too cold to be outside. After lunch, I suggested to get some ice cream from KFC (btw they have some of the best ice cream and sundaes in all of China). I bought the ice cream cones and headed back outside. The funny thing is that the ice cream actually freezes more outside and feels a little warm as you eat it because it is actually a little warmer than the air temperature.



Upside-down ice cream reminded us of the great DQ Blizzards we ate on every road trip anywhere in Texas. I guess M'Lynn was a little scared hers might fall out so it's not completely upside-down. But not to worry, it was really cold outside there's no chance it will fall out!

First Day of Winter?

Today may have been the first taste of winter. At least it was a taste of what's to come. The temperature today at 4:00 PM was 25 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill of 17 degrees. It is hard to imagine what it will be like when it is 20 degrees colder than now.

What do you wear when it's this cold? Here's what we had on for starters: Long johns and pants; 1 undershirt, 2 long sleeve shirts, and a fleece jacket; and don't forget the hat and gloves.

We have not yet busted out the warmest winter gear. As the Chinese saying goes, you are supposed to greet winter slowly (i.e. put on your layers a little at a time so you don't use all your warn stuff before the temperatures really drop). The same is true for spring, take your layers off slowly (probably because there is always one last winter burst that comes along).

UPDATE: When we checked the weather this morning the high was -14 degrees Celsius (aka 7 degrees F for all your folks in America). I had the strange urge to run outside really fast just to see what it felt like. I didn't probably because of the fact that 7 will be the high some days in the true dead of winter. But I have no reference for what that cold feels like.

The weather here can be very deceiving. In our apartment, all our windows face south, so we get a lot of sunlight. With it being sunny and clear, and the inside apartment all toasty, it is really difficult to put on all the layers of clothes and venture outside. We have found out though that once all the clothes are on, we better be heading out the door quickly before we overheat inside.