Zhuhai English Camp 2010

2010-10-31T20:24:00.002-04:00

On Monday October 11, Dr. Luke Fetters, associate professor at Huntington University, presented his current research about English teachers working in southern China. His presentation titled, “Ordering Chinese: How English Teachers in Southern China Rank the Relative Importance of Traditional Chinese Values” revealed the results of data gathered in 2008 during teacher training in Zhuhai, China.

This event was sponsored by the Centre for Non-Western Studies and the Focus on Excellence colloquium. The Centre for Non-Western Studies supports inter-disciplinary research and teaching linked by a shared common interest in non-western politics, culture and society. Begun in 1998, the “Focus on Excellence” colloquium runs twice a year in an effort to showcase excellence as presented by university faculty or members of the Huntington community.

A Five-Year Agreement!

2010-08-05T09:43:00.003-04:00

As it turns out, our efforts this summer seem to have been received well. In the few days since returning to the States, I have been in contact with Jumbo and Mr. Li in Doumen. The Doumen Education Academy has signed an agreement for us to bring teams to Doumen to train 80 teachers each of the next five years. We enjoy a special relationship and have had many meaningful conversations with teachers in Doumen. What an opportunity!

I am so thankful for each team member and the various support networks that allowed each one to be in China this summer.

An interesting note - Charles Chapman traveled with the team each of the past three years. He took a year off this year, but stayed involved by posting our blog entries and helping to edit the camp newspaper. He did some of this work while on vacation with his wife. As he and Kim were returning to Fort Wayne from their vacation, waiting at a gate in Detroit Metro Airport, our Delta group (Greg, Terry, Mary Ellen, Donna, Susie, Nancy, Johanna and Holly) walked up to the same gate for their flight to Fort Wayne. So, Charlie traveled with the team this summer after all. A fitting end to a trip characterized by Providence.

Home again!

2010-08-01T19:03:00.005-04:00

Some of our team are still traveling but the largest group is now home. Holly hugs her mom.

Susie is met at the airport by her children (plus one).

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts while our team worked in south China. Remember to return for a wrap-up - coming soon!

A note from Luke.

2010-08-01T00:03:00.007-04:00

Piers and I are at the Hong Kong Airport ready to depart.

We had our farewell dinner with Jumbo, Adam, Canaan and Mr. Zhang on Friday night on our way out of Zhuhai. It was great to celebrate a successful venture with old friends.

We had our team debriefing yesterday morning at the hotel. Joanne and Luke left yesterday noon for Beijing. The rest us enjoyed a day in Hong Kong. We walked around, ate dinner at Spaghetti House, went to Victoria Peak, and shopped at the Temple Street Market. We left in several shifts this morning - Rob and Ken left the hotel for Tokyo at 5:30 AM, the Delta folks left the hotel for Detroit at 6:30 AM. Piers and I had breakfast with Jana, Jenaya and Jeff and then left the hotel for Chicago at 9:30 AM. Jeff will fly out tomorrow morning. Jana, Jenaya and Bridger stay in Asia.

It's been a great trip, with an outstanding team. Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts.

The team pauses for a moment in front of the Booth Lodge in Hong Kong before departing.

The Fetters boys enjoy the "Peak" in Hong Kong.

Heading home.

2010-07-30T19:50:00.001-04:00

The entire team (Yung Wing and Doumen) arrived back in Hong Kong late Friday evening. We are sleeping in a bit on Saturday, then meeting to debrief with one another an share about good conversations we had.

Later this afternoon, we begin to disperse - Joanne and Luke B to Beijing, Rob and Ken in the morning to Tokyo, Bridger to Macau. Most of the team flies back to America on Sunday. We appreciate your thoughts about our safe travel.

Jeff

Doumen Camp Annual

2010-07-30T10:50:00.006-04:00

This posting contains the third edition of the English Camp’s newspaper. This issue of the “Doumen Camp Annual” is by far the best and contains the most content of any paper written for the camp. Jeff Sherlock led the activity this year.

The first two years saw two papers published during the camp, one for each week. These papers focused on informative articles about the staff in the camp. This year’s edition of the camp paper is a bit different. Because the structure of the camp changed a bit this year, Jeff decided to publish one large paper and challenge the students to do more than in past years. I think you will see that the students met the challenge with a couple of very interesting essays. Please remember these are middle school students writing in a second language.

NOTE: As you may have noticed, I have provided support to the team by posting content to this blog. Because of the demands on time combined with the challenges of blogging from China (it is easier to email than blog), I volunteered to be the funnel for the team for posting to our blog. Also for this year I was able to help with the camp paper. Jeff emailed me the student’s writings and photos. I assembled the material and emailed the completed paper back to Jeff.

For viewing - click on the paper - then click again to zoom in.

The trip is starting to wind down. . .

2010-07-29T10:00:00.005-04:00

Maryellen and Terry pose with Jumbo (left), his wife and Adam and his family.

We had a good meeting with Doumen government and education officials this evening. Things look positive for a five-year contract for teacher training in Doumen. Thanks for your keeping us in mind.

At the same time, the Doumen team had a closing dinner with their hosts. It was "hot and lively" - a rough translation of something that sounds very nice in Cantonese!

Plans have changed at Yung Wing again. We'll be accompanying kids to a movie in the morning and having lunch with the head of English education for the school at noon. We'll say good-bye to the kiddos at 3:00ish.

Jumbo will bring the Doumen team to Zhuhai tomorrow evening and swing by to pick us up at Yung Wing on their way to supper and the boat to Hong Kong. We really are winding it down.
Luke

Fun at Wal-Mart and RAIN!

2010-07-29T00:11:00.005-04:00

It's been an interesting Wednesday. This afternoon we divided 180 kids into three groups and took them to three different supermarkets. We had 60 first graders at our supermarket. We divided them into ten groups of six kids. Each group had a shopping cart and 100 yuan (about $15) - but no direct supervision for an hour and ten minutes. Imagine 30 groups of six six-year olds let loose with carts and cash in Wal-Mart. They were told to choose snacks for their upcoming field trip. What a blast!

It really rained this afternoon and evening - causing tomorrow's outing to be cancelled. So things are getting switched around a bit. Basically, the North American teachers at Yung Wing will teach the next two afternoons. I came up to Jumbo's this evening in the pouring rain. We sat in a traffic jam for a long time. When I got out of the car at the restaurant where folks were waiting for me, I waded through water above my knees to cross the street. We enjoyed a Mongolian dinner with Jumbo's family. Life's good!
Luke

Middle school students are amazing!

2010-07-28T19:43:00.004-04:00

Above, middle school students work on the Doumen Camp Annual.

SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT!
I gave some of the middle school students a special assignment yesterday. Each of the three groups had to imagine that they were starting a new society on a deserted island, and they had to develop ten laws to govern the island. I want you to hear some of their ideas for governing. (I’ve edited their ideas slightly, just for readability. The items in parentheses are my comments.)

“Harmonious” Island
1. The more you work, the more you get.
2. Men should live outside; women live inside (if there is not enough room inside for everyone)
3. When somebody is in danger, try your best to save them.
4. Keep yourself safe.
5. Never steal and rob.
6. When it’s very hot, take the trap out and pour some sea water on it to make salt (self sufficiency)
7. Try to make a wooden house or find a cave to live in everyday.
8. Don’t go swimming alone. At least two persons should go – or the other is at least working near the lake.
9. After using the boat, you must push the boat up on shore. If it is going to rain, move the boat to a safe place.
10. Everyone must get on well with others. Just get along as with relatives. Don’t fight or quarrel.

“Second China” Island
1. If you don’t obey the rules, you will be punished.
2. Don’t hurt each other.
3. Don’t steal and rob.
4. Be honest and friendly.
5. Respect and help each other.
6. Work hard.
7. Listen to the leader.
8. Stick together.
9. Take care of yourself and the environment.
10. Children must be educated.

Third Island (I don’t remember the name they chose for their island)
1. All people should obey the rules.
2. All the people have the right to talk freely.
3. Give prizes to the people who plant more. (incentive)
4. No stealing and robbing.
5. No hitting others.
6. Protect the rights of women and children.
7. Help each other.
8. Don’t cut too much. (Avoid hurting the environment.)
9. If you don’t obey the rules you will be punished.
10. All people are the same.

This is a pretty impressive group of students!
Jeff

Have no fear, the HU girls are here!

2010-07-28T19:38:00.000-04:00

We've traveled many places around Zhuhai in this van....affectionately known as the "jalopy". On this particular night, the jalopy refused to start when we went to leave a restaurant. Although the girls' efforts failed to solve the problem, a restaurant worker gave us some oil and we were soon on our way!
Joanne Brenneman

A short photo gallery . . .

2010-07-28T10:40:00.003-04:00

Middle School students work on the camp newspaper, the “Doumen Camp Annual.

Ada (Jeff’s Teaching Assistant) and Bruce Lee (a primary camper) hamming it up for the camera.

Buddhist monks worshiping in a temple near Doumen.

Luke Brenneman and Ada Chiu imitating the Zhuhai Fisher Girl statue.

One of Greg's primary groups.

2010-07-28T10:32:00.002-04:00

This is one of the primary groups we teach. There are four primary groups in the camp. We teach each group once in the morning and once in the afternoon for a total of 10 classes. The students are full of energy and eager to learn.
Greg.

Dinner for Yung Wing Teaching Assistants!

2010-07-28T00:42:00.002-04:00

Things are starting to wind down at Yung Wing. We had a dinner with our Teaching Assistants last evening at a Hunan Restaurant near the school. It was a nice time. My TA, Ryan, shared with me that he heard yesterday afternoon that his 48-year-old aunt died in her sleep overnight on Monday. Please think about Ryan and his family.

We teach half a day today and then tomorrow is a field trip. So, if the weather holds out, we'll only be teaching this morning and Friday afternoon.

Piers and Bridger will spend Wednesday and Thursday in Doumen. The kids there are excited to see them. Bridger and Piers will have a blast.

I am going to Doumen on Thursday to have dinner with folks to discuss the possibility of a multi-year contract. This would be a wonderful open door and would help with planning from year to year. That meeting will begin at something like 6:00 AM your time Thursday morning.
Luke

A note from Doumen.

2010-07-26T15:56:00.000-04:00

The second and final week of camp started in Doumen this morning. The day went well - as it has Every day so far. Our team is in good spirits with only minor health issues, but the long days and intense heat are wearing on some. Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts.

As mentioned before, each of us has a Chinese university student teaching assistant. They are a great help in the classroom. We also find that they are open to new ideas, so we appreciate the opportunity to get to know them better.

Free talk is really going great. About 15 there each day and some are bringing their friends. This week, two participants are sharing their own essays. One has asked if we can give him a book. Great.

Hard to believe we have less than a week left.
Jeff

Cultural excursion . . .

2010-07-26T15:51:00.002-04:00

These are from the combined team's trip to the replica of the empiral summer palace that was burned during the war in Beijing. This was one of Adam and Jumbo's adventures in culture. They are always such wonderful hosts.
Susie

Hello from Yung Wing School!

2010-07-26T15:49:00.000-04:00

Jenaya Bonner, Donna Hollopeter, Susie Burson, Luke Fetters, and Piers Fetters (with an occasional visit from Bridger Fetters) have been working alongside of Jana Hoobler at Yung Wing School this summer. Jana and the other foreign English teacher at the school planned an exciting World Expo for the children attending the camp. Kids from about age six through thirteen travel from class to class and learn about a different country each day. Although they are learning about a variety of countries and cultures, the instruction is in English, so they have the opportunity to hear native speakers and use their English to communicate with the teachers and each other. We have seen the children improve in their confidence and skills as the camp has progressed.

This weekend, the Yung Wing team traveled to Doumen to spend time with the doumen tean and friends made in earlier camps. I (Susie) spent the weekend with YangYi and her family. They were my hosts for three years and have become good friends. I feel as if I am part of their extended family. It was good to spend time with them, share memories and discuss important things, like hope. My father is very ill, so we discussed fear of dying and losing people we love. It was a good conversation, especially since YangYi has fought cancer this year. She seems to be getting stronger each day, and I think has more hope for her future.

We will be finishing up camp on Friday and saying goodbye to new friends and old ones. Hopefully, we can continue building friendships and sharing our lives with one another. Keep us on your heart as we finish camp and travel back to the states.
Susie

Sunday - a busy day.

2010-07-25T12:55:00.000-04:00

Although we had no classes today, we stayed very busy. We left at 8:30 this morning and drove down near the Macau border. We went through an art gallery depicting 20th century woodcuts and paintings by Chinese artists. Many of the woodcuts depicted lifescapes from the 1930s through the 1960s. Another set of paintings were of scenes from beautiful, mountainous Sichuan Province.

We then had lunch with a government official. During the meal, a question was raised about the possibility of a multi-year agreement to do English Teacher training. After supper this evening, Luke and others gathered to work out a proposal. Discussions will take place over the upcoming week to see whether an agreement can be reached. We appreciate your keeping these strategic discussions in your thoughts.

In the afternoon, we went to a park that is a recreation of the famous Beijing Renming palace. In the late 1840s, during the infamous Opium Wars, British and French forces burned the palace. A re-creation has been built here in Zhuhai – and the Chinese people still haven’t forgotten what happened way back then.

Tomorrow – the second week of camp begins. Thanks for your continuing concern and thoughts.
Jeff

"It's a team effort!"

2010-07-25T12:49:00.004-04:00

Chinese middle school students enjoy writing and illustrating their own poems and will have a personal poetry book to take home at the end of English camp.

A friend of mine in America helped prepare materials for lessons by punching out hundreds of shapes for students to use in decorating their personal poetry books.

Thanks a bunch!
Joanne Brenneman

Photos from Yung Wing

2010-07-24T09:53:00.008-04:00

Luke teaching primary students. (Click on the photo to see a better view.)

Susie teaching. Students are the same worldwide, some are engaged and others - not so much.

Jenaya listens to a student (far left) during class.

Donna teaches - but with a camera in the room it can be a challenge!

Jana and Nancy visit with the Yung Wing team.

Top ten things to report from China:

2010-07-24T09:35:00.006-04:00

10) The Doumen team was invited to a birthday party in a nearby village on Wednesday night. Each year the entire village celebrates the birthday of a "barefoot doctor" that was relocated to their village during the Cultural Revolution. An amazing experience for the team that money can't buy.

9) Kids at Yung Wing keep patting my belly and saying "you have a baby" or "what a big fat tummy". Grrr!

8) Jenaya will go to karaoke with some of the Yung Wing teachers on Saturday afternoon.

7) The Doumen team will go to the hot springs resort on Saturday evening for a bit of pampering!

6) Susie is spending time with Yang Yi this weekend, her host from 2007, 2008 and 2009. Yang Yi has been dealing with breast cancer this past year.

5) I'm in Macau with my boys this weekend - eating nostalgic food and celebrating Bridger's birthday a couple of weeks early. We had dinner last evening with John Mayhugh - a childhood friend of Bridger and Piers.

4) I was able to have a focus group session with Doumen English teachers to shed light on my research project. I'll be presenting a paper about Chinese values at HU this October based on my research.

3) Some folks on the Doumen team are being asked about their habit of reading each morning. Some meaningful conversations about reading have occurred.

2) Mr. Reagan Li, deputy magistrate of Doumen with responsibility for education and foreign industry, has invited our whole team to visit two parks in Zhuhai on Sunday. It will be nice to have most of the team together and to continue building our friendship with Reagan and his son, Bruce Li.

1) The team is doing an outstanding job! It's really cool to see the quality program that we're able to deliver in both Doumen and Yung Wing. This team is more prepared than ever to deliver a quality program - everyone on the team either has significant experience working with kids and or has taken at least one TESOL course.

Luke

Terry and Mary Ellen talk with the "barefoot doctor."

Holly teaching primary students in Doumen.

Piers teaching in Yung Wing.

The Doumen team at the village dinner.

From the traveling team of Jana and Nancy . . .

2010-07-24T09:10:00.005-04:00

We have enjoyed traveling from Zhuhai to Doumen to Macau and back. The bus system is easy to use and taxi rides are fairly inexpensive. The friends that we have been meeting with have been a huge blessing! We usually spend 2 to 3 hours together talking about many things and often important matters. We have studied the good book with several. We are mostly living out of our backpacks and stay in different places at night. Our favorite place is Jumbo’s house, also known as the He International House. He and his wife are very gracious hosts. We know that this opportunity to see so many friends in such a short time is precious! For those who know Betty, she is visiting her family in the north so we have not visited face to face, but we have talked on the phone more than once. She seems to be doing well and is enjoying getting together with her friends in her hometown. We appreciate your thoughts!
Nancy

Notes from Doumen

2010-07-24T08:51:00.037-04:00

The first week of Doumen Summer Camp finished yesterday morning. Everyone we’ve talked to considers it a great success. Our North American team was tired, but worked enthusiastically and diligently all week long. There were no complaints, despite heat and rain.

We’ve had typhoons this week, not the palm-bending type of typhoons you see on the news, but just wind and rain. The typhoons forced a few activities indoors, but nothing major was impacted.

The afternoon free talk activities have been well-attended throughout. As I mentioned before, I had pretty low expectations since the teachers are not around during the camp as they have been the past three years. But some of them seem to consider it a priority and so they come at 4pm each day. We have probably five or six teachers each day, half a dozen university students who are helping at the camp, a few high school students who attended a few years ago, and a few people who come because their friends invite them. It is great. Rob, Greg and I have all led free talk groups.

Yesterday, Johanna was feeling a bit under the weather (she is feeling much better today), but Lauren was able to step and take her place, so camp did not miss a beat.

This weekend, is quite relaxing and a chance to catch our breath. Today, we will have dimsum, take a trip to the countryside, eat chicken baked in mud ovens, and relax at a hot springs resort. Tomorrow, an influential government leader has invited us to Zhuhai where we will visit a museum and perhaps watch a historic play. Monday, it is back to work…

Even though we cannot communicate directly with you on our blog, we know you are thinking about us. Thank you.
Jeff

Here are a few pictures from Doumen camp.

Visiting Adam’s home village. We attended the birthday party of a well-known “barefoot doctor.” The meal was catered by a company that brought everything (food, tables, chairs, etc.) into the village on a boat via the river.

A “planning worksheet” for the camp newspaper, dubbed the Doumen Camp Annual.

Greg and his teaching assistant, Celine.

Destiny and Wendy: two friends from previous years.

Meet Ada Chiu

2010-07-22T16:55:00.005-04:00

In the English Camp at Doumen, each of the North American teachers is paired with one or more teaching assistants (TA’s). Most of the TA’s are university students or young teachers just a year or so out of university. They are delightful to work with and we have had some really good conversations with several of them. Quite of few of the TAs stay around for the free talk sessions at the end of each day. My TA is Ada Chiu. Ada is about 22 years old with a bright, sunny personality. She knows that I speak a little Cantonese, so when she can’t quite think of how to say something in English, she launches into rapid-fire Cantonese. Fortunately, I can usually follow the gist of what she is saying.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Ada’s grandparents and parents had a really difficult time. They were considered wealthy and faced severe criticism. Ada is thankful that things are better now. When Premier Deng announced his policy of “reform and opening” in 1979, the country began to move forward economically and the social climate began to improve. Ada states, “Deng Xiaoping is my hero.” If you could meet Ada, you would like her immediately. I hope you will keep her and our other TA’s in your thoughts.
Jeff

Day three at Doumen

2010-07-21T12:37:00.008-04:00

Day Three of the camp at Doumen went well. Students seem to be having fun and most are becoming more proficient at speaking English.

This evening, we had rare cultural event. Adam, one of our hosts, had a relative in a nearby village who was having a birthday - so we all crashed the party. The relative was a Barefoot Doctor back during the 1970's. You can learn more about Barefoot Doctors by Googling the term.

Adam from a 2008 photo.

My computer is sick, so I can post only a short message - with no pictures. Sorry. Jeff

Ah yes - change . . .

2010-07-20T20:48:00.007-04:00

Jana has often told us that things at Yung Wing can change abruptly. We had a little experience of that yesterday. We had just finished our morning lessons, and one of the Chinese teachers walked into the teachers’ work room and said, “Did you hear about the change?”

“No.”

“Oh, well, they are changing the overnight camp to next week, so you will need to teach all day on Thursday instead of having the day off.”

I’m proud to say that everyone responded well! We revised the rotation in the next half hour and went to lunch. That change meant that instead of doing crafts yesterday afternoon, we split the kids up and went to activities outside the school – Pizza Hut, the new Tom Cruise movie, and a video game arcade. Piers and I were assigned to Pizza Hut with 70 first graders. FUN! The rest of our team went to the movie with second and third graders.

As a result of the change, Bridger will come back over from Macau to pinch hit for me so that I can go to Doumen on Thursday to observe some of our team who are completing their TESOL practicum. Actually, this trip includes five TESOL practicum students, two intercultural internships, and a student receiving grad credit for a course in teaching, learning and motivation.

The week is going well. We’re learning, again, to be flexible.

Oh, another thing I learned after all these years. Chinese don’t do most fruits for breakfast. There were some bananas on Jumbo’s table last weekend when we sat down for breakfast. Jumbo asked me to move them to a counter. I told him I thought we might enjoy them with our breakfast. Jumbo looked surprised, but agreed. As we began eating, the bananas were quickly grabbed one by one by the American team. Jumbo’s wife walked over from where she was making tea to express concern. She looked at Jana and said, “Aren’t you afraid to eat that? Shouldn’t you eat something else first?” She was quite concerned that we’d all have stomach aches or headaches later in the day.

Hmm? How did I miss that all these years?
Luke

Photos of the Pizza Hut field trip.

Free talk in Doumen

2010-07-20T17:34:00.012-04:00

Our free talk time this afternoon was based around an article, “The Long Road to Forgiveness,” by Kim Phuc. One of the more memorable (and horrific) pictures from the Vietnam war was of a young child running down the road screaming after her clothes had been burned off in a napalm attack on her village. You can read the essay at http://thisibelieve.org/essay/44965/). Kim later became a believer and give a very solid testimony about her journey.

Anyway, it was a VERY animated conversation that was still going strong after the time was up. Several people stayed around to talk afterward.

We had low expectations for the free talks this week, because none of the teachers are on campus. But we invited people who were in the training last week and several from previous years. Some of them are bringing other friends. A couple of high school students and several university students are also attending. We’ve probably had 20 or so people attend the last couple of day. Very exciting.

Tomorrow, we talk about the article, “To Preserve a Benevolent Attitude,” which you can read at http://thisibelieve.org/essay/16995/ . You might want to read the article and think about how different sections might touch people.

Thanks for your thoughts.
Jeff

Photo of the day . . .

Mary Ellen Rayles working with primary students to make name tags.

Middle school students begin work on the camp newspaper

2010-07-19T19:01:00.004-04:00

From Crystal, Rain, Ace, and Jack
“This is a camp organized by the Huntington University and Doumen government. This Summer Camp lasts for two weeks from July 19th to 30th, which is holded in Doumen Experimental Primary School. We take part in this camp in order to improve our English skills. Most of my classmates are in this camp. We’d make lots of friends here and get to know more about American culture. We think we will have a good time this year with all of you. Thank you.”

From Brown, Tony, Eldridge
“What is Summer Camp? You may ask. Well Summer Camp is an activity. In this camp you can improve your English and talk with the foreigner friends. It’s fun! Summer Camp is beginning on July 19th, 2010 in Doumen. There are many people in this camp. Such as, Jeff, Mary, Ken and a whole lot of students. They can learn from each other. Everyone is happy to learn English and make friends with English teachers. Everyone is happy to learn English and make friends with English teachers. English teachers teach us much and play games with us. We all have fun. Have a great time in Doumen Summer Camp.”

An English Summer Camp is started in Doumen
By Mandy, Wing, Kitten, Kitty,
“The English Summer Camp is started in Doumen on 19th July. It is the fourth times to be held in Doumen; it’s held in Doumen Experiment Primary School. In order to improve the student’s spoken English and share the Chinese culture to more and more foreigners who from North America. There’re fourteen foreigner teachers in the camp this time and two of them come Canada and the others from the USA. All the students love them. Welcome to Doumen.

This post submitted by Jeff - the camp newspaper editor and publisher.

Zhuhai first week summary

2010-07-18T12:24:00.007-04:00

Our first week in Zhuhai went very well. It consisted of a good mix of meeting with students, teaching and establishing relationships with teachers, and renewing relationships with teachers that were established in previous years. The teacher training went very well. Chinese teacher participation and openness to new ideas were both very good. Now, it’s time for the student camp.
Greg

Anna Zhou (Greg’s host) and Greg - photo from 2008.

Anna's family - 2008.

Photo gallery from Luke

2010-07-18T09:10:00.012-04:00

Jeff arrives in Doumen with Lauren, Luke B, Rob and Ken.

Full team at lunch on Sunday (minus Piers and Bridger but plus a few Chinese helpers).

Terry & Jumbo share time during teacher training.

Teacher training.

Teacher Training - explaining group activities, in English!

Teacher training - group work.

Yung Wing students enjoying a relay.

Jackson drawing Piers and Bridger on a Kenyan safari to show what he learned that day.

Luke

Field trip to Pearl Land

2010-07-18T08:45:00.007-04:00

Here are a few of pictures from Yang Wing School's field trip to Pearl Land. Imagine taking 180 children to an amusement park! It was fun!
Susie

Note: to better see the group, click on the photo. Susie is in the middle rear.

Weekend in Doumen

2010-07-18T08:23:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was a low key day in Doumen. Jeff went to Hong Kong to get the rest of the team. Susie, Donna and Jenaya came up our second site to Doumen. For most of us, the day consisted of reading, naps, laughter, enjoying new and old friends, and some meaningful conversation. Donna and Mary Ellen are enjoying conversations with Mary Ellen's host, Susan.

An article about the team appeared in yesterday's Zhuhai newspaper with a big color picture of Greg! Speaking of Greg, he and I were at McDonalds yesterday, and some students who were in his classes last January recognized him. That was fun.

The Doumen television station will run a story about us next Wednesday evening. They did the interview Friday morning, but wanted to wait until I was in town to air the story. Funny!

Most of us got together for Congee hot pot - boiling rice porridge fondue - last night for dinner. Steamy goodness!

The rest of the team will arrive this morning and we'll enjoy a meal together before the Yung Wing group heads back to Zhuhai. This will be the first time to have the whole team together anywhere.

Keep us in your thoughts.
Luke

1) Free Talk continues. . . 2) Passing through Hong Kong on the way to Zhuhai!

2010-07-17T12:56:00.014-04:00

Yesterday (Friday) we had a really good free talk time using an essay called “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.” Most of the people in the free talk group were teachers, but there were a couple of students from previous camps. One students shared how she had learned through a time of failure. Luke was able to share how sometimes bigger issues are involved and lessons can be learned during times of failure. It was a good time to talk together and we really hope teachers will come to free talk activities next week.

Our final four team members arrived in Hong Kong this evening. As you may have read in a previous post, Luke B and Lauren almost missed their connecting flight in Detroit. They had to literally run to catch the flight and were the last ones on the plane. What we didn’t know was that Rob and Ken also nearly missed their flight. Anyway, everyone (and his/her luggage) got into Hong Kong about 8pm on Saturday night. Unlike every other day on this trip, we had some pretty heavy rain – but that didn’t deter us from eating outside (under a tarp) in the Night Market.

Tomorrow morning – on to Zhuhai. Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts.
Jeff

Weary travelers! The final four team members who just arrived tonight - Rob, Ken, Lauren and Luke B.

Ken and Lauren prepare to dig into the exquisite cuisine of the night market - Hong Kong. Everyone loved the food. That’s a good sign.

Despite a downpour, business goes on at the Temple Street Night Market.

Meeting old friends

2010-07-17T08:24:00.000-04:00

It is so wonderful to be back in China! Our teacher training went well and it was good to see old friends again! Last night Jana and I had dinner with 3 former teachers. It was so good to visit with them and get caught up. They are all doing well. Jana meets with them regularly and their English is amazing (practice makes perfect!) Jana and I will go to Zhuhui City tomorrow to meet with more friends and be back in Doumen on Thursday. It is truly a privilege to be here again this year!
Nancy

Travel challenges . . .

2010-07-16T20:33:00.006-04:00

After first learning that some of our team might be delayed, we received word that Luke B and Lauren did made their Detroit connection. The last four members or the team should be in Hong Kong Saturday morning and in China Saturday night Indiana time.
Jeff

FYI - Total travel time from the Huntington to Zhuhai, China is in the 24 to 26 hour range (sometimes a bit more). The flight from Detroit to Hong Kong is 16 hours. The time change is 12 hours.
Charlie

Teacher training concludes

2010-07-16T20:28:00.001-04:00

This afternoon we wrapped up the Doumen teacher training; it was only 2 days this year, compared to 5 days in previous years. After the conclusion, we had a free talk and about 20 people attended. It was very good and we hope some of the people will attend next week.

Tomorrow, the final four of the team come in to Hong Kong. There is a typhoon somewhere to the Southwest of us in South China, but I don't think it will affect us.

We still have limited internet access, but hope to get better access next week.
Jeff

Teacher Training Continues in Doumen

2010-07-16T06:44:00.009-04:00

Luke chats with Mavis, a returning teacher from last year. We value the relationships that build from year to year.

This exercise is designed to give directions, of course in English. Greg demonstrates Crazy American drivers in China!

Alex drives a "taxi" and takes direction. Oops, like most young Chinese, Alex does not have a drivers license!

Doumen teacher training and Yung Wing English Camp are off to a good start.

2010-07-15T20:11:00.002-04:00

The first day of teacher training on Thursday at Doumen went really well. We saw lots of our summer program alumni from 2007, 2008, and 2009. Because there were many folks who already knew us and our style, it was easy to get the teachers engaged right from the start.

The Yung Wing camp trip to an amusement park - Pearlland - on Wednesday was really fun. Having a dozen screaming seven-year-olds hanging on me as we walked through the haunted house was pretty fun - pretty hot too!

We had dinner last evening with the Doumen deputy magistrate with responsibility for foreign industry and education. He spoke at our opening ceremony yesterday morning, and then he invited us to supper at the government office last evening. He studied at a community college in San Diego for a year back in 1999. His English was very good - an interesting evening!

I am not set up to send pictures where I'm at right now, but I promise to send some over the weekend.

Please think about the many friends we have here in Doumen and Zhuhai. We want to use our time well to communicate with them outside in our free time!

Luke

Professional Development in Doumen

2010-07-15T17:35:00.006-04:00

We began the professional development training for English teachers at Doumen today. In the past, this training has lasted for five days, but due to budget cuts, the training has been reduced to two days. We were afraid that the teachers would not really be able to get their "English ears" on in such a short time, i.e., they would not be able to really hear and speak so quickly. But thanks to great activities by Jana and Nancy, the teachers really got involved. Laughter and loud talking could be heard throughout the room during the activity times.

Our blogs have been very limited so far because we have not been able to log on to the internet. I've been sending updates via my cell phone. Sorry for the brevity.
Jeff

Shrimp and a good marriage.

2010-07-14T18:36:00.003-04:00

Today is my (Jeff's) 31st wedding anniversary. When I mentioned it at the table, Anna, a middle school teacher, placed 2 shrimp on my plate, explaining, the word shrimp sounds like Hah so two shrimp sounds like HahHah. So a good marriage is like laughter. Kind of neat, I thought. Thanks for thinking of us.
Jeff

Thanks for thinking of the team!

2010-07-13T22:01:00.004-04:00

We (Greg, Nancy, Holly, Johanna, Joanne, Jana, Terry, Mary Ellen and Jeff) are on our way to Zhuhai. Weather is hot, skies are clear. Here we are relaxing on the ferry. Thanks for thinking of us as the Teacher Training starts tomorrow.
Jeff

Day two at Yung Wing

2010-07-13T14:35:00.001-04:00

We have had our second day of camp at Yung Wing. Lots of little kids. The second day was easier than the first. We're having fun. We're singing songs. We're playing games. We're doing crafts. We're looking stern. Those of you who know me well know can appreciate me in charge of a room full of 36 six-year-olds with paper cups, glue, markers, crayons, shoe polish, and masking tape. But it is really cute when they say "teacher" and bring their African drum to me for a nod of approval.

I'm developing a pretty good friendship with my teaching assistant - Ryan. He's a fourth grade music teacher in one of the public schools in Zhuhai. I'm looking forward to our ongoing opportunities for conversations about lots of things.

The teacher training team arrives tonight. Piers will come directly over to Zhuhai to help at Yung Wing. Bridger will fill in for me at Yung Wing on Thursday and Friday while I'm at the teacher training in Doumen. The rest of the team will stay tonight in Hong Kong and then come to Zhuhai tomorrow. I'll meet up with them at Jumbo's tomorrow evening.

During the day tomorrow, the entire Yung Wing camp is going to an amusement park - Pearlland. We used to go there as a family when our kids were little. Bridger, Piers, Ryan and I will be in charge of 18 kiddos. What a blast!

Luke

The Doumen team lands in China

2010-07-13T14:32:00.001-04:00

"We made it. The flight was smooth and right on time. The bus ride to Booth Lodge worked fine. We met up with Jana at the airport and Jeff at Booth Lodge. We went out to dinner in the night market and then did some walking through the night market. Tomorrow morning we take the ferry over to Zhuhai, see the school we will be doing the teacher training seminar at, and then meet up with our host families. It will be a busy day."
Greg

Doumen Team Travels

2010-07-12T17:24:00.002-04:00

The Doumen team begins to head out today. Greg Sweetland and others take off from Detroit at 3:30PM on Monday afternoon and will arrive in Hong Kong on Tuesday evening. Jeff comes in from western China on Tuesday afternoon. We'll all meet up with Luke on Wednesday evening. Then the final team members come in on Saturday. Whew. We trust all flights will be on time.

All has not been work for Jeff this week. In this picture, he is relaxing at a picnic on the Tibetan Plateau. Those cute animals in the background are yaks.

Planning, students register and camp starts in Zhuhai!

2010-07-11T20:40:00.006-04:00

Donna and Susie arrived late Saturday night. We all came over from Macau to Zhuhai together on Sunday morning. We spent the day getting to know our Chinese colleagues for the next three weeks. Jana Hoobler has done a terrific job planning the camp curriculum.

The kids registered last evening. They're adorable - lots of first and second graders. We sat near the registration table as "eye candy" for the Chinese parents who were dropping their kids off for camp.

Camp starts in half an hour, so I better get over to Yung Wing for breakfast. I hedged my bet this morning and grabbed coffee, toast, and Wi-Fi at Jane's Place - a coffee shop near the school. Now I'll go pretend to enjoy some hot rice porridge! It's 95 degrees and 95% humidity. The weather never disappoints!

Luke

Yung Wing Team Assembles Bit by Bit

2010-07-09T19:59:00.004-04:00

Jenaya Bonner arrived in Macau (via Hong Kong) several hours late on Wednesday evening. I arrived in Macau (via Hong Kong) about 45 minutes early Friday evening. As it turns out, Susie Burson and Donna Hollopeter missed their connection in Detroit Thursday afternoon due to mechanical and weather related issues. As a result, they're delayed 24 hours and will not arrive in Macau until late evening on Saturday. So, instead of going into Zhuhai for orientation on Saturday afternoon, the Yung Wing team will wait until everyone arrives and then go into Zhuhai early Sunday morning.

So, I have the pleasant opportunity to spend an unexpected day wandering around Macau with my son, Bridger, who recently moved over here to teach English and work with youth. We'll certainly find good things to eat!

A note from Jeff. . .

2010-07-07T20:37:00.006-04:00

While I am waiting for the rest of the team, I am visiting some businesses in another part of China. Whereas it is very hot in southern China (though not as hot as Huntington from what I hear), it is pretty cool up here. In a part of the country that is normally very dry, they’ve had lots of rain, so the hills are very green. Yesterday, I took a 5-1/2 hour trip by bus into the highlands. Here is the funny thing about technology in the 21st century. I was riding in a van built for 9 (we had 12 at one point!) looking out at yaks and tents. However, I was able to use my BlackBerry phone to take a picture and upload it to Facebook. Very strange feeling. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from northwestern China. Keep thinking about this people that the light would dawn.

Getting acclimated

2010-07-03T10:08:00.003-04:00

Today, I did the tourist thing – partially to get over jet lag and partially to acclimate myself to the temperature and humidity. Though I’ve been to Hong Kong a number of times, I’ve never taken the time to go to any of the outer islands. Cheung Chau was a fishing village; actually, it still is, but it has also become a tourist attraction and a day trip for Hong Kongers wanting to get out of the city. As far as I can tell, motorized vehicles are not allowed on Cheng Chau and the only vehicle I saw was an ambulance. There is a hospital, a seminary, a couple of beaches and some very nice walking trails – definitely different from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong.

I wandered away from the beach front and back some side streets to eat in a small restaurant. It was crowded (a good sign) and I was the only Westerner. There were no empty tables, but here people think more in terms of an empty seat, so I just took a seat in a booth with another guy. We didn’t talk, but when he left, he told me to “go slowly,” sort of the equivalent of “take it easy.”

“Desiccated” is a word I often use to describe how I feel in southern China in the summer. After several hours of walking and climbing around Cheung Chau, I was feeling really dried out (even though I drank lots of water), so I came back to the Booth Lodge and took a nap. (So much for getting over jet lag and getting acclimated!)

This evening, I went back to the Night Market and had supper. The guy in the picture here has a t-shirt that reads, “Terry’s Barber Shop;” I took that for my teammate Terry Rayles.

Tomorrow, I head into China. I’m not sure I’ll be able to blog for the next few days.

Jeff arrives in Hong Kong

2010-07-02T20:59:00.002-04:00

The first “wave” of our team arrived in Hong Kong on Friday evening. I came over early to visit some businesses in China. I’ll come back to Hong Kong just in time to meet up with the first wave of the Doumen team.

It is funny coming to Hong Kong because it feels so “homey.” Nathan Road, the main “drag” in this part of the city is somewhat like Michigan Avenue in Chicago – but get a block or two off Nathan and it is very “local.” I took the time to walk through the Temple Street Night Market and had some noodles at a street restaurant. In this picture, the location looks dark and pretty seedy – but it wasn’t really all that dark. As people walked through the market, the restaurant vendors call out to people, “Come on over and have something to eat; our food is delicious.” Of course, for the foreign tourists walking through, this marketing pitch was lost because it was in Cantonese.

I’m looking forward to my business visits over the next week, but looking forward to the team coming in a few days.

A cookout for China!

2010-06-27T16:26:00.006-04:00

Thanks to everyone attending the cookout! Your support of the China team is appreciated!!

Grill masters Terrell and Luke take care of the dogs and burgers!

The spread includes all the cook-out regulars - hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, chips and veggies.

Training

2010-06-07T09:40:00.002-04:00

Dear Friends,

Saturday was a great training day. It was great to meet each of the team members for the 2010 camp and work on teaching assignments and preparations for China. I am confident it will be a great teaching experience!

English Camp Training!

2010-06-05T11:43:00.010-04:00

Today the team completed a couple of days of team building and training. From the left; Rob, Jenaya, Jeff, Donna, Greg, Holly, Piers, Joanne, Luke B., Mary Ellen, Terry, Johanna and Luke F. Not pictured; Nancy, Ken and Lauren.