After 30 hours of flying, layovers and waiting for the rest of the team to arrive in Beijing I made it to our dorm at the University of Beijing at 1:30 a.m. Beijing time. We've had a couple of days of orientation, getting to know one another and learning basic Chinese phrases, customs and learning how we'll go about teaching English to our students. It sounds like we'll be going from 8 in the morning until about 9 or 10 at night 7 days a week - ambitious schedule!
One of our weirdest teaching sessions was on how to use what they call a "squatty potty." Apparently they are holes in the floor that flush and everything, but you don't have your throne. So we learned the art of using this Chinese version of our western toilets. I should have taken pictures of it. To celebrate we went out to a Chinese restaurant. It was an eleven course meal, but you had to use chop sticks It was great fun, but I'm afraid I may loss weight if I don't improve. I got to play the part of the guest of honor and my seat was between our two facilitators. It was a real education in Chinese customs. I included a shot of the heavy rainfall we encountered on our way home from dinner.
I'd appreciate your prayers that we will do a good job for our students and that God may really shine through us.
