We're here!

Ni hao from China!

I hope this message finds you well! Ann and I spent last week going through orientation in the lovely city of Hangzhou. We got to meet with fellow English teachers recruited by the same organization as ours and have lots of fun and fellowship. We went out to dinner and did a bit of shopping. We also read and discussed necessary preparations for teaching and being in China, and had "study sessions" with our "favorite book." Some of us with no Mandarin language experience began studying pinyin as a first step. We visited the beautiful West Lake and took lots of pictures. Aside from Ann (my roommate and friend, for those of you who don't know) and myself and two others, these individuals will be teaching in either Hangzhou at the university or in Wenling at schools or a learning center.

I'm very excited at the moment because I'm in Ann's and my new apartment in XinXing writing to you; the especially exciting part is that the Internet is working better. :) Our apartment is *beautiful*. They went all out decorating it and the lady in charge of it must have asked us about 5 times if we like it. We kept assuring her that we do. They bought a whole bunch of things we thought we were going to need, including our bedding, dishes and utensils, toothbrushes and toothpaste (Colgate for both, I believe), shampoo, shower flip flops, a tv, DVD player, a plug-in tea kettle, a rice cooker, bottled water dispenser, and a huge gift basket with fresh fruit and chocolate in it. Apparently our go-between, Mark, told our school what had been done before at Brandon and Caroline's school (they are a married couple at the middle school equivalent of our school) for the girls they are replacing, but I couldn't believe how awesome it is.

We've been having dinners with the higher-ups from the schools. They've taken us for "Western" food; it's so funny because it's like the Chinese version of "Western" (much like we Americanize Chinese food). "Western" food means things like beefsteak or chicken, but we still have Chinese vegetables and sauces. It has been good, and we're all finding things that we like.

Ann and I were still waiting on one suitcase each...until this morning! Ann says it's like Christmas in September because of the luggage arriving; we also each got a bike this morning to ride around town. We each received a cell phone from day 1. The problem is that we cannont read the Chinese characters to use the phones beyond the basics (and multiple people have tried to play with it to change it, to no avail). We keep mixing them up because they look exactly alike and have the same strange Chinese song playing when the phone rings.

We're hoping to observe some Chinese English classes to see what our students already know and their skill level. We have received a very warm welcome and been introduced to many individuals in the English department. One newly married couple, Lily and her husband Colline, went to dinner with us last night. They all seem so grateful that we are here to help them and the students, and are wanting to help us learn Mandarin as well. Although the locals speak Cantonese, those in our school setting speak Mandarin which is wonderful as it's more useful in the rest of China. The students began classes on Monday, and we were introduced at the opening ceremony. They can't fit all the students in the hall, but I'm guessing there were close to 2,000 of them in there. They introduced all the higher-ups first, who were met with applause, and then the new teachers. I was introduced before Ann, so picture me getting teary-eyed as I stood up onstage and the place erupted in cheers! I will never, ever forget that feeling. I will consider that my celebrity moment.

Please pray for us as we continue this journey here! We hope and pray to be able to reach out to others and share the most important Message during our time here. Blessings to you all!