Happy New Year! The big new year’s news here in the northeast of China is the weather. There has been a lot of snow and we all generally agree that we recently (for over a week) have been experiencing the coldest temperatures we have ever encountered…anywhere! Yesterday the daytime high temperature was -13 F and when we woke up this morning it was -29 F ! This is not the wind chill, but the actual temperature. To put it in perspective, someone pointed out that it recently has been warmer at like Fairbanks AK, Siberia, and the North Pole according to online weather data. Our Chinese friends all tell us this is one of the coldest winters they have experienced in a while and the weather is really making daily routines tougher. In these temperatures no one seems to walk anywhere, but, instead, they run when outside so as to get indoors as quickly as possible. As a result of this big freeze we are staying close to home and the kids are beginning to show the signs of having cabin fever, but it would just not be fun for anyone to play outside.
Since it is the new year and we have not posted anything in a while, here are some quick updates from everyone in the family.
Mike:
The fall semester at NENU is just about over…one more week! It really has been a long, busy semester; however, I feel it has been a great beginning to an ongoing relationship with the staff and students in this program. I am the first and only teacher from ELIC to be placed at this extension campus location, so I hope I can make the most of the opportunities professionally and relationally.
Speaking of relationships and non sequiturs…Jacque and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary yesterday! The traditional gift for the 15th is crystal, so we went chandelier shopping. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful…its just so hard to find chandeliers that aren’t gaudy and fit into a 6th floor walk-up apartment.
This semester some fellow ELIC folks (about 30) here in the Northeast decided to have our own version of contest based on an American TV show “The Biggest Loser.” I have never seen the show, but the goal of our contest was to primarily to develop healthier lifestyles and, secondarily, lose weight. Well, long story short, I won! I earned the dubious title “The Biggest Loser” and pocketed the prize money. By the end of the contest I lost 42lbs and I hope to continue toward other weight/health goals. Lastly, oh yeah, and did I mention b-b-bbrrrrrrrrrrrr?!?
Jacque:
I was just going to say one word, “YEAH!”. But… Thank you all so much for your thoughts this semester as I studied Chinese full-time. I am really glad to have the semester over and have a vacation from required new words, homework, and classes. I just want to hang out, cook for our family, clean up a little, read, and then review what I learned this semester. But for today, I’ll just hang out with Mike and our kiddos!
Connor:
Now that school is out Connor is spending (literally) hours reading! He lies in bed at night and keeps track of his time to record the minutes for his teacher. There is a bit of contest at school with the boys to see who can read the most, some good peer motivation.
Clare:
Clare is glad to have vacation to spend more time with friends here and at conference in Thailand. Each year she has made a good friend only to have her move on at the end of the year. So this is her chance to catch up on those gal pals!
Colin:
Counting down the days until Christmas has been replaced with the birthday countdown until Colin turns five later this month. Lately he has been building/assisting building with new Legos and battling his brother and Dad with the Nerf guns.
Well, that’s all for now, but we will be sure to send more updates over our break.
