A Look Into Our World

This is the front entrance to our dorm/apartment building...LDI has 10 apartments just like ours in this building, the rest of the building is for other foreign teachers and some of the LDI students . . . their living areas are much different than ours, however. The other foreign teachers have one bedroom and a living / kitchen area with heat and air, the students have two sets of bunkbeds and no heat or air. We are very thankful for our small home!

This is our side of the building. We are three windows up and the last three windows on the far left of the picture.

The University Library on the west side of the University Square. We have been told this is the second largest Library in Changsha. Considering we are not even in the top five largest/best Universitys in the city, that's a pretty big deal.

The "back street". One day we went out back and all these buildings had just been demolished! They are needing to widen this alley/street to allow for all the traffic that has been created from the growth of the University. Always something new! 

Another Look Into Our World

Our most traveled street, up the hill from our apartment is the LDI classroom building.

The courtyard in the classroom building . . . looking down from LDI's 5th floor

The front of the classroom building . . . and the beautiful fountain in the University Square

The bulletin boards outside the classroom building and the entrance into the courtyard area. 

Game Night

Jenga Drama . . . this was a new game for our friends, but they were quick learners!

A very unruly game of Sequence . . . but in the end the Girls Rule and the Boys Drool! (Always trying to teach American Culture, even if it comes from Jr. High!)

The losers, or winners, depending on which ones the girls were, wore the victors/losers crown . . . or, the Chinese humiliation of choice: crawled under the coffee table. Shao Jerry was the loser here . . . but what a great color for him!

LaWanda, Julie, Holly, John, Da (big) Jerry and Shao (little) Jerry

The night began with some great food from one of the many restaurants near the front gate of the University, then Holly and I mixed up a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies . . . and the games began. It's a great way to spend a Sunday evening before beginning another very busy week. 

Wedding Bells are Ringing!

Jerry's student, Jane, and her new husband

The bustling banquet hall

One, of about 15 times they showered the bride and groom with confetti. . . the gentleman on the left is the MC for the reception . . . One loud and boisterous MC!!!

Rachel had a blast playing with the other children while we were enjoying the banquet . . . and the boy behind her here even informed Jerry that she didn't understand him and translated for her when he came to tell her that she shouldn't run aound the tables . . . quite funny!


This was our very first Invitation to a Wedding Celebration! (note I did not say the first wedding celebration we had been present for. . . one of the larger resturants we have attended a couple of times is a very popular "wedding banquet destination", but apparently not private, because both times we have gone during a wedding banquet and we were still seated and waited on as if nothing unusual was happening! We always wanted to crash a wedding reception . . . and i guess now we have!) It really was a fun time of celebration, Jane and her new husband were so very happy . . . and exhausted! I guess our cultures aren't that different when it comes to the bottom line of weddings. . . a happy and exhausted couple head off into the sunset! 

A Baby In A Basket

Shhh . . . we have to hide the baby so the mean king won't find him!

Ahhh . . . such quiet, attentive students of the word!

"Oh, Princess! Look what I found in the river! "

"Yes, sister Miriam, I would like you to find a nurse for me . . . "


On Sundays, when we meet as a group, everyone takes a turn filling all the roles . . . this week happened to be my week for S.S. and we had a spell-binding preformance after the lesson with each of the three girls taking a turn being "Princess" , "Mommy" and "Sister Miriam". . . they did such a great job pretending. Who would have guessed that I would move to China and WANT to be the S.S. teacher??? None of my girlfriends at FGBC, huh, girls??? 

Experiencing Technical Difficulties

In recent days we have not been able to access our blog. The university has kindly added broadband access to all the student dorms (which are at max capacity) thus making our access much slower during peak hours when students are not in class. . . this may be the cause, and may not be the cause, we are uncertain, but have been told that blog access here is quite a "hit and miss" situation (insert previously discussed reasoning for this here) . . . even now i am getting a message that says this post may or may not publish, I am crossing my fingers and speaking to him about it now . . .

So, just to let you know, we are still here, still wanting to keep you updated, but may need to find a more convienient form of communication.