8-20-2010

Posted on Friday 8-20-10, but most of it was written a few lines at a time over the week then posted on Friday.

Today is Sunday, August 15, 2010.

Ronda and I have just finished 2 weeks (100 hours) of the best training we have ever been able to enjoy.

We had classes on security, medical safety, health (do not drink the water unless it is in a bottle), and how to deal with the cultural overload that will hit us after a few days in China.

It was a 2 week, 10 hours a day, marathon – and I do mean we were running to keep up.

The training was to prepare us for our 1 year of working in China in the China Teachers program through BYU where we will teach English at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

We have our class assignments:

Ronda – 3 classes of Freshmen - Oral English,

2 classes of Senior Writing,

1 class of Writing for Graduate Students.

Charles – 3 classes of Sophomores for Oral English,

2 classes of Juniors for Speech and Debate,

1 class of South Korean Juniors for Speech and Debate.

We are excited to meet our students.

We had many classes on culture, ethics, and Chinese history. We had 20 hours of Chinese language. That is not much but we hope we learned enough to ask for something to eat and directions back to our living quarters when we get lost in the city of Shanghai.

We look forward to visiting the many historical sites of China like the Great Wall, the canal between Beijing and Shanghai, the Silk Road near Xi an with the Terracotta warriors, Hong Kong, and maybe Siagon, Viet Nam (all it takes is money). We enjoy visiting sites around the world.

We hope we can help those who want to improve their use of the English Language to become better readers, speakers, and English Language users.

more later

California wedding and Party with friends July 28, 2010

Hello:

I hope everyone is having a GREAT summer like Ronda and I are. After a fast trip to Pismo Beach, California where we enjoyed the Beach and Universal City with 3 of our Grandkids, and a family wedding we returned to Salem to a party with some of our friends.

Thank you very much Donnah for all of your work and planning. It was fun to visit with everyone and remember the many enjoyable times we have shared.

Thank you everyone who was able to stop in for a few minutes and visit with us as we prepare to start our adventure by traveling to BYU for 100 hours of training the first 2 weeks of August. Then we will fly to Shanghai, China on August 26. School starts on September 3 for Ronda with two classes of English writing. She will be finished by 12 noon. I do not start until the following Monday with one class of English Writing at 8am with Juniors and the rest of the day off. On Thursdays I will have a class of South Korean students. They will be working on their 3 language - Korean, Chinese, and English. We might point a lot and be really confused at times.

Tuesday June 22, 2010

A little history of why and how Ronda and I decided to go to China.

The why is - we have always wanted to go on a mission somewhere after we retired. But I was still working and planned on at least 1 more year. In November 2009 Ronda saw an add in the Church News inviting couples between 60 and 70 years old with a 4 year college degree to apply for a teaching position in China.

The how - We filled out the papers and sent them in not expecting anything to develop. We were accepted. In 2010 at the end of June I retired so we could go to China. Ronda has been retired for several years.

We want to go live in another country while we are still young. We did not want to wait a few years and then have a major medical issue as happens to so many people. We have traveled to other countries and it is often rough in the best of times. If you get sick it can be very hard.

We want to go away for a year while my mother is in good health as she is now.

Many missions are expensive - going to China and teaching English through this program we will get paid by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University - not a lot of money but they provide the living quarters and the plane ticket both ways. Financially we can work in China for a year and build some lasting relationships.

Announcement!

Ronda and Charles will arrive in China in September 2010. We will start posting in earnest at that time! Please check back often for updates and news on what we will be doing and learning and experiencing. We'll even have pictures of places we visit! Maybe. If we can. We will be in a communist country after all.

Follow our "practice posts" until we get to China!

Click HERE to see what we'll be doing and for more information on how to join us!