First Segment of a very large Entry

Ok folks,

This is waaaaay past the time I promised to have another blog entry out. My only defense is that I had a huge technical issue with my Brailliant Braille display’s notes ap, resulting in me having to rewrite everything on my computer. I am not able to copy and paste what I’ve written, nor am I able to transfer it any other way, so please bear with me as I put out smaller entries segment by segment. I believe the last day that I wrote was March 12, so we have a few segments to go before we’re all caught up and I can blog about current happenings. Until then, I hope these entries keep everyone reading.

Thank you so much for your patience.

God bless,

Valerie

Hi all,

I hope this finds you well.

This entry promises to be quite large, as it will attempt to give everyone a Glimpse into these past few weeks and the days before which I have neglected for too long.

Thursday and Friday, February 14 and 15th (Actual days this time, not combined like my flight dates.)

Thursday morning I was up bright and early which was a surprise to me. I expected to have some jet lag. Classes start at eight, so that day, I got up at 6:30. I walked over with my roommate, Maddie. We live on the eighth floor of our apartment building, so We always take the elevator down to the ground floor. In the elevator, an electronic billboard plays advertisements on repeat. I was caught off guard by this the night before. I thought other people were inside, and I reflexively wanted to stand aside to let them pass, until someone explained what it was. The path from the apartment to the school is pretty straightforward, I could tell that much even though I hadn't learned it yet. I think the school building only has two floors, maybe three, and all the classrooms are upstairs. Since they just moved, there is still a lot of construction going on downstairs, so I'm not quite sure how they'll make use of that space. They have a piano down there which I am itching to play with. I’ve messed with it a bit, but not much. The kids are still technically on break until March 4, so I get to just interact with them and get to know them before teaching them. On this first day, I only got to know three of the kids a bit. One little boy named Timmy, a girl named Zoe and another named Grace. You'll hear a lot about them later. The time I didn't spend with them was just spent observing, talking to those who knew english, and getting Chinese kid songs stuck in my head. Unless I'm at the school, I can't even play them when they're on repeat in my head because I can't spell the titles. Kind of sad in a funny way.

Friday was spent much the same way, but that day I discovered that Zoe likes to play on a miniature realistic looking piano they have in the classroom. I played a little more with Grace as well. We try to keep her busy to keep her hands away from her face because like many young blind kids, she tries to find sensory stimulation in poking her eyes. From what people tell me, it creates a sensation similar to seeing lights behind your eyes or something. It was a good start to the three months I think. Maddie invited me to her families house for the weekend, so after school that day, we took a … cab for lack of a better term (I forgot the Chinese term and couldn't spell it even if I knew, unfortunately), but I'd say it's more like Lyft or Uber Chinese style. It was a good, long drive. Oh yeah, one other thing I forgot is that I got my cell phone plan that day too. I wish the US had the service that they have here. It's way more affordable., But I quickly went through the amount of data I had. More on that later. So that was exciting because I could stay connected with the outside world long-term. Maddie was Nice enough to let me use her hot spot for the first two days since we didn't have Wi-Fi yet.

Ok, I promise I’m done with that tangent… We arrived at Maddie’s family’s place just in time for dinner. I don't know why I was so surprised to see an American style chicken, but it was good, and her mom's muffins were awesome! I was told that Chinese folk don’t do much baking. It's not even standard to have an oven in a kitchen, but you can buy a toaster oven and use it to bake. I’d like to try that one day while I'm here. Her whole family is really nice. I love that they didn't mind my sarcastic banter and the teasing going on between Maddie and I.

Saturday was fun, a bit of a low key morning which was nice. Maddie wanted to see what it was like to watch an audio described movie, so we watched Coco on Netflix. To my surprise, she preferred to just listen to it most of the time instead of watching it. I never yet met a sighted person who enjoyed it quite as much. Aside from the movie, I also took time to catch up with Family and reassure them that everything was fine, show them a bit of China through pictures and the view outside my window etc. In the afternoon, we went to the mall and got boba drinks which were really good. It's probably a “Well duh!” kind of observation, but their green tea boba here is fabulous! And the best about it was that they didn't put ice in it, so it wasn’t watered down. I don’t know where the term Boba comes from, but they call it Bubble tea or bubble drinks here. Next we went to a grocery store, and I got my green tea chocolate fix!!!—among other things. I’ve never seen a market inside a mall, so that was interesting. They have these neat escalators there. Instead of stairs that move, it was a ramp. There were some in the airport too, I just forgot to mention them. We also went to get massages. I think all the employees at the place we went to are blind or partially sighted. They had a lot of questions for me about what it’s like for blind kind in the US. Everyone was very polite and respectful there, and the massage helped my back. Who knew sitting on a plane for 15 hours could make a person so stiff? The mall was within walking distance from Maddie’s house, but to get to the massage place, we had to ride bikes. Maddie took a pedal bike, and her dad had an electric bike. I got to ride on. To say that he let me drive would be a boldfaced lie, so in the interest of honesty, I’ll say that I just got to enjoy the ride and hold on. It was a little like jet skiing, though not as fast. It was pretty fun, and we flew past other people who were walking, and some bumps in our path gave the streets their own personality. In the evening, we hung out with a family friend, and she brought her adorable baby daughter.

On Sunday, we all went to their church gathering. It was nice to have fellowship and I remember liking the pastor’s message. Afterward, everyone went out to lunch together. Among many other tasty things that I will never be able to name, I got to try Beijing duck. Over those first few days, I discovered that I could tolerate more vegetables than I expected. They either season them well here or have them in a very flavorful sauce, and that helps a lot. People who know me well know how much I normally dislike vegies. I still don’t think I’d choose to eat them on my own, and I still crave meat more than vege, but it wasn’t as much of a stumbling block as I expected it to be.. I seriously praise God for that. I prayed about that a lot, and thought I should start eating more greens beforehand in preparation for the trip, but could never bring myself to do it. So yeah, that really was a load off my mind. Aside from the duck dish, I also got to try a fried bread and meat dish. That was amazing! I think we had some more down time in the afternoon before we returned to Bethel. When we came back, We found that the little girls had moved into another place because of our rather rude downstairs neighbors. Any time the kids wanted to play in the house and started running across the floor or played in their room or just… were being kids, our neighbor would take a broom handle and whack at their ceiling—our floor—to try and keep us quiet. I think they complained a few times too. We volunteers are still going to stay here. We thought we might have to move as well, but things are decent now so I think we’ll be here for a few months at least. I’m actually kind of glad we get to stay here despite all the initial uncertainty.

Monday, February 18

That day was another observation day. It was really cold—about 20 degrees or so, and we had to keep a window open in the classroom because of a certain paint on the walls which gives off a chemical scent that is not safe for the kids to breathe in. When I get cold, I get tired, so that was really hard to fight off. I wasn’t quite sure what I could or should be doing with the kids. I knew that for the next two weeks, it was basically play time all day, until regular lessons picked up in March. But I just wasn’t sure how to engage with them. I was also still kind of getting to know my surroundings. I think that day I started to really get an idea of the classroom’s layout. Until the actual lessons started, everyone was in the Caterpillar room. One corner of the room was sectioned off as a play area. They placed thick, padded mats on the floor and bordered 3 sides with padded bumpers that also serve as benches, and I have often sat there with one of the kids. The 4th side of the mat is against the wall, so it creates a safe space where they can jump around a bit and not take too many hard knocks on the head. The rest of the room is composed of several shelves full of toys—many of them make music or some other sounds—and 2 kid-sized tables pushed together to make 1 big, long table, a few storage cupboards, and a water cooler. There are big windows that let in quite a bit of sunlight, and on the other side, there is a glass wall so people can see the hall and common area just outside the classroom. Details are a bit blurry as to what I did that day, but I know I did play with Zoe on the little piano quite a bit. At some point  that day, we were told that the educational director—Judy—would be staying with us for the next week, so she went back to the apartment with us at the end of the school day. She was really Nice and spoke English, asking me if I knew how to access the appliances in the apartment. Since Allie and Maddie had already given me a tour of the place, I told her that I was ok and could get whatever I needed. I don't think I did much once I got home. During those first few days, I think I went to bed early, like an hour or two after I left the school.

Tuesday, February 19

That morning I wanted something to do with my hands so I wouldn't focus on how cold I was, and also hoped it would keep me awake. Aside from my own personal necessities, I brought another suitcase, all full of art supplies—adaptive tools that I found useful for creating tactile art. I even brought my own Perkins Brailler so I could make Braille Pictures for the kids. Aside from that, I brought a yarn bag and my knitting needles, so I got some yarn and a set of needles and brought them up to the classroom. I spent the better part of the day—when I wasn't interacting with the kids—making a scarf. That did help me stay awake a bit more. One of the older boys—Jackson–Was fascinated by it and wanted to learn to knit. I was supposed to teach him the next day, but for whatever reason, it didn’t happen. I need to find a way to communicate with the kids, because talking to them is still one of the biggest stumbling blocks I have right now. At one point, I took a break from that and did some stuff with origami. I think he liked both things because they were new to him, but of those 2 things, he was more interested in the knitting. That night, I got to know Bethel’s education director a little better. She was watching a TV show in Korean. I find languages fascinating, so when she invited me to sit with her, I did. Then she changed her mind about the TV show, and we started to watch something in Italian… and she changed her mind again and we ended up watching Fifty First Dates in English because she wanted me to be able to understand it. Yeah—as I said before—she was really nice. She also tried to do a bit of video description for me.

Wednesday, February 20

This day began much like the others. I did finish that first scarf, but I also started to get a bit more familiar with the routine. Zoe would regularly come up to me when she noticed that I was Playing the piano and waiting for her response, and Grace enjoyed being bounced around or just having me hold her hands, Jackson would look at how long the scarf was getting and ask what the English word was so he could learn how to say it, and whenever I had my cane, Timmy would come up to look at it—probably because it is so much taller than the canes his classmates have. I was still cold, but had more to keep me occupied. I think that was also the day that Judy started teaching me the route from the school to my apartment. She is very much a take charge sort of person, and I really appreciated that. She also knew some orientation and mobility techniques—I think a few of the teachers do—and she was able to give me good, solid landmarks that I had lacked up until that point. I think the whole walk from point A to B probably takes me 3 minutes, though I haven’t timed it. I don’t even have to cross any streets, though I do have to cross a driveway. Also, sometimes bikes—both pedal and electric—whiz past as I walk down the path, and it can be a little disconcerting to have them so close. Most walkways here are narrow, so often if I hear one coming up behind me, I’ll hug the bushes or even stand in them to let the bike go past. I just don’t like walking, knowing the whole time that something so speedy is nearby. Anyway, by Friday or Saturday, I was used to the route and am so grateful for that little bit of extra independence.

Thursday, February 21

I think what stood out to me most on this day was that while I was hanging out with Zoe in the morning, I discovered how much she loves kisses and tickles, and she knows the English words for both. Whenever she wants me to give her kisses, she’ll say the word repeatedly. It’s really quite cute. I also found that she loves playing with a baby piano toy, the ones with huge keys and little metal rectangular strips across the top. She likes to flip it upside down and listen to the resulting sonorous clash. In the afternoon, some of the kids who have useable vision got to go to a local theater to watch a movie. While they were out, several students from a high school came to visit Bethel. A few of them gave performances—some did a Chinese wrap song, played the violin, and one student told a story or recited something. Afterword, a few of the students started talking to me, saying they wanted to practice their English. They also taught me a few words in Chinese. I’ve forgotten most of what they taught, but I still remember how to say “I love my dog.”… or at least I think I do. I keep second guessing myself.

Friday, February 22

I don’t really remember too much about this particular day, aside from Judy leaving before lunch time, giving me a handmade pin that has 2 kitten heads made of fabric, with beads for the eyes and nose. I really like it and have fastened it to my fuzzy sweater. A few volunteers came to Bethel to take the kids out for a swim in a local indoor pool. I couldn’t go because I didn’t listen to that voice in my head that said “Pack your bathing suit!” … I mean … why would I need it? I’m going to Beijing where it is still winter. Oh well. What matters is that the kids had fun. I think I did another grocery run that day too, with Allie’s help. Allie has been the person I corresponded with since before I came to China. I think she’s the one families talk to when they’re interested in adopting one of the kids. She has been really awesome about answering all my questions. From Friday night until Sunday, I had the whole apartment to myself. Our normally quiet house was even more so.

Saturday and Sunday, February 23 and 24

I was told that I was welcome to come to the school during the weekend to play with the girls who would be there regularly. Some of the boys are there at times too, but for whatever reason, the girls play at school more often. I could visit and eat my meals with them as well. I took some time for myself, reached out to some of my family in the States, and went to hang out with the girls as well. I met Susan for the first time that weekend and got to know her a bit better. About 2 years ago, she came to visit Blind Children’s Learning Center—a preschool for the blind which has a lot of resources for early intervention, meaning they work with families that have blind children who are even younger than typical preschool age students. I spent about 2 years there as a part time employee, and a few more as a volunteer in a kindergarten classroom. It was there that I first learned about Bethel, through one of my former students who is a BCLC alumnus. All that to say that aside from visiting BCLC, I think Susan got to see a former Bethel student too. I remembered Susan’s name, and that I met her briefly, so it was nice to come full circle and meet up with her again. That weekend she invited me to go to lunch with her and some of the Bethel kids on Sunday. That lunch was fabulous, and it was also my first time trying Chinese barbecue.

This concludes the first segment. I will have another post fairly soon.

Take care