Journal Entry #25: Monday, June 7, 2010

I awoke and realized that I had houseguests!  Mia and Jessie were asleep in the guest bedroom.  I walked by their room and closed the door so as not to disturb them as I started my day.  This day I did not forget that I had an English class coming at 8:30 a.m.  After checking my email from which I had been away for three days I returned a few responses but mainly waited to call Donna at our appointed time.  It was Sunday evening at home.  She had two Chinese new friends at our house in Woodridge, Andy and Sarah, and so I had the chance to speak to them and say “Ni Hao, Ni Hao Ma” with the little Chinese I had learned.

​They seemed to be delighted to be speaking to me from their native land and in their native tongue. I answered all of Donna’s questions and made a few requests for her to acquire and bring along with her.  After the 20-minute call I scurried off to prepare for my four students to arrive for our Monday morning English/Bible class. Faye, Helen, Sue and Carol arrived and we had a good Bible study and class.  At the conclusion of class the four students presented me with a gift of Chinese pillows!  These pillows were much like those that I slept on while at Jessie’s house.  They are made of a bamboo covering on one side and filled with herbal Tealeaves.  The Chinese pillows are really beautiful and they will make a nice addition to my home décor, but I doubt I ever spend the night with them!

Our English class was from chapter three of the fourth book where Nicodemus visited our friend at night.  I received a lot of questions about the same thing for which Nicodemus was inquiring.  I could tell the wheels were really turning in Helen’s mind, so as I inquired further, she said she had changed her mind about a lot of things but she still had come to no conclusions.  I assured her this was normal and to take her time to understand the text so that any decisions she made were her own and not because I, or anybody else, wanted her to believe just what we believed about the story.  I encouraged her to keep reading and pondering long after I left.  

Jessica and Mia were now awake, up and dressed. They seemed to hit it off with my Hengyang students with zeal.  Jessie suggested they look at photos from the Harding campus she had on her laptop.  They viewed and laughed and talked in both English and Chinese for almost another hour.  All the while I was getting Mia and Jessica something for breakfast.  The four serving cups of tart fruit flavored yogurt I had purchased earlier and eaten one, which I did not seem to enjoy as much as I thought I would, were a delight to them.  Hot tea, some breakfast biscuits/cookies and the yogurt seemed to be the perfect meal for them.  I had a photo taken of the class and myself, along with my new pillows.  It seemed the class was over quickly and the four students were gone just as quickly.  Even before they left Amy and Amber had called and wanted to come see me because they knew that Jessica and Mia were coming and they had a lot of questions about what it was like to go to university in America.  My Harding Chinese students were perfect ambassadors for our American university.  After a lot of introductions and talking we all went to lunch.  I stressed again that the food should NOT be hot and spicy, but one dish was and the rest were really good, especially the fish!  After lunch we stopped by the quick market and purchased a few more items I needed for my kitchen.  Jessie and Mia wanted to cook for me (and them) at my house more than eat out.  After almost four weeks of eating out and only snacking at the apartment for a few meals that was a very welcomed gesture they were offering!  

Excuse me; it’s Chinese naptime… During nap time the apartment maintenance man came to fix a few things in my apartment.  It was well worth getting up to answer the door to let him in, as I needed the plumbing fixed in my kitchen and now that I had houseguests there were a few things in the Chinese bathroom that needed fixing.  Trouble was he did not speak English, so I had to awaken Mia to come and translate for me.   In 20 minutes or so he was done and gone. 

It was time for class.  I went to Mrs. Lasts’ class and took my two Chinese daughters with me.  I answered a lot of questions that I had largely heard before but that was OK, I had not told them the answers.  And besides, they were working hard just to ask the questions.  They were delightful and I enjoyed looking at each one of them and addressing their inquiries.  One question was “I know that most Americans are religious.  What religion are you and why?”  I quickly asked our Father for the right words and I told her and all of them what was on my heart!  I then had Mia and Jessica tell of their experience about attending Harding as a Chinese student in America.  They were great recruiters speaking very highly of the school, the teachers and the philosophy of Harding University.  I was so proud of them both.  We then excused ourselves to go buy ice cream before my 5:00 o’clock class.  Ahh, ice cream, a wonderful treat in any culture!

The 5:00 o’clock class was a lecture on one of my industry expertise.  I had a simple PowerPoint that I had modified just for them and I delivered the lecture with little fanfare.  Unfortunately, unlike last week, a lot of students were either too tired or not interested because I had trouble keeping their attention.  There seemed to be a constant buzz of talking and chattering.  I finally decided to take a break and I announced that I usually get more respect from my class and that if they did not want to be there after the break then they were excused to leave!  Some chose to leave, many chose to stay.  The ones that stayed were much better, but the talking and inattentiveness still lingered.  I finally drew that class to a quick conclusion and dismissed.  Ironically a lot of students stayed for a long time afterwards to ask more questions and speak with me regarding my lecture topic and other reasons why I was there at their university. 

Mia, Jessica and I walked back to my apartment.  They told me that I looked tired, for me to rest for a while. I sat down on the couch and was just about asleep when they said, “Steven! Dinner’s ready!”  They had cooked dinner for me!  It was made up of some leftovers that they had prepared from some take-away from a restaurant in my refrigerator.  They made some fresh noodles and had a large bowl of refrigerator leftovers with some broth and soy sauce mix and cooked an egg to go on top.  They served it with a Chinese spoon and Chop Sticks.  It hit the spot. 

We were late but we finally arrived at Monday evening’s English Corner.  I think Mia and Jessica enjoyed discussing life in America as much as we did. I can tell the Chinese students here sure enjoyed talking to them.  When it was time to go I had to pull them away!  We came home and they put my Chinese television to much better use than I had prior to them arriving.  As I wrote and read this entry to Jessie and Mia about the events of the day, they expressed their joy and amazement for the unique Harding experience they had in their first year in America.  They realized that they have what millions of Chinese students only dreamed they could have.  As they contemplated the day and the experience Jessie said, “We are moved and our hearts are touched.”