Hangzhou Day 2 - New Years Eve in China!

Below is the video from our first full and eventful day down here in Hangzhou celebrating the Lunar New Year with Melody and her family. I'd suggest you read the blog post below and watch the video in that post (if you haven't already), and then watch this second video.

There should be another 1-2 videos in the next few days also. My hope is that they will give you a taste of what Chinese Spring Festival is all about, and a look at the amazing experience we are having. Geoff and I are both so thankful that God has provided us with such a priceless and extraordinary adventure - especially one that we did not plan and embarked on 48 hours after the thought popped into Geoff's head. Praise Him!

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Psalm 34:8-10

Mandarin TIP and a Spring Festival Adventure!

Happy Chinese New Year!

I am currently sitting on a bed at a Youth Hostel in the city of Hangzhou (close to Shanghai) where my buddy Geoff and I are visiting  one of his students from a TIP summer session. We are in the middle of the Chinese Spring Festival (by far the most important holiday in China) where literally almost everyone goes home to their families regardless of the distance to celebrate Chinese New Year. The student's English name we are visiting is Melody, and both of her parents are Christian pastors! Her father chose the English name Timothy (very fitting!) and her mother's English name is Rose. Although this is only our first night here, we have already experienced incredible hospitality as all three of them came and picked us up from the airport in a 11 passenger church van (Quite funny to think about such a thing in China!). Then, they took us to this hostel where they insisted on paying for our 4 night stay here. After that they took us to their cozy apartment where Rose had already prepared some fresh honey dew melon to eat, Timothy cooked us some wantons for a late second dinner, and they shared Korean candy with us that some of their Korean church members gave them as a New Year's present.  They even gave Geoff and I a brand new toothbrush, bottle of toothpaste, and small hand towels to take to our hostel. Unbelievable!

The funny thing about this trip, is that it’s one of the most spontaneous things I've ever done. Geoff posed the idea of traveling here for Spring Festival literally two days ago! We bought plane tickets that were 60% off last night since they were so last minute, and paid about USD$165 roundtrip!

As for an update regarding TIP, I spent all of January developing curriculum for our Mandarin TIP program as well as doing some facilitating with our students. And, ironically, not being in the classroom with 35+ students allowed me to develop some closer relationships with students. I even had time to spend 4 nights (about 2 hours per night) chatting with 5-6 of my favorite male students in their dorm room. One night I brought my computer and showed them some of my pictures from the States, and the next day one of the students said, "Kyle,  after you left, we  were all very excited and stayed up for a long time talking about your pictures! We did not get much sleep and I'm now very tired!" Overall it was a successful session.

Then, after a short three day break, we started our Mandarin TIP program! It's much different than English TIP in a number of ways. For one, we are all low, low, low speakers, and therefore it's obviously not a full immersion program (yet… the last 4 days we will attempt to have it be full immersion). We also have a pretty great ratio going for us. We have 11 Chinese facilitators/teachers who taught 15 of us. And, while it’s not quite as regimented as our English TIP we do have a packed schedule from 8:30am - 7:30pm with a 2 hour lunch and rest time in the middle of the day. Needless to say, my Chinese is improving and I've already been able to use it with Melody and her family especially since her Mom knows very little English. It's awesome… :)

Finally, we've also decided to Vlog (Video Log) some of this trip, and the first installment can be accessed here at the link below. I'll post again in the next few days! I hope you like it!

Kyle

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or could imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

Stateside visitors and developing a Mandarin TIP program!

http://picasaweb.google.com/kyleghansen/WallsCitiesIceTigersAndMapleTwist (Check out new pictures here!)

Dear friends and family,

As the students constantly say during their 10-minute English speech at the end of their 20-day session, "how time flies!" It really is incredible to think that I have already been back in China for almost 6 months! And, what an exhilarating 6 months it has been.

In my last post, I mentioned that my friends Anna Veldt, Eric Chen and Kari Kutrich had come to visit me. We ended up having a marvelous time together, visiting many of the Beijing attractions including the Forbidden City, Great Wall (this time we thankfully weren't forced to camp on the wall!), and various shopping markets around the city. Some of our best times were also spent simply hanging out in my dormitory too, where Anna blessed many people on the team by making her signature (and my absolute favorite) dessert/breakfast pastry known as the Maple Twist. Give me a piece (or 2, or 3!) of cinnamon, sugar, and maple goodness and enjoyed with a vanilla latte (also courtesy of Anna) and I'm a happy camper. We also made a couple of different pancake and bacon combo meals and a marvelous Indian curry that everyone greatly enjoyed, and which had leftovers lasting for two separate meals for me and my friend Abby once they left. Needless to say it was a big blessing to have something other than my Kung Pao Chicken or Sweet and Sour Chicken go-to's and of course the fellowship and deep theological conversations we enjoyed were also beneficial and cherished.

We also took an exciting trip up to the ice and snow world known in Harbin. I think the best way to portray this experience would simply be to point you to the pictures (see link above) and allow you to read through the captions accompanying the pictures which would do more justice than anything I could write to showcase our trip.

It has now already been two full weeks since Anna and Eric left and I am now nearing the end of the January session which has been completely different than anything I have experienced so far. This is because I have been a part of developing a pilot version of a Mandarin TIP 3-week program that will be launched in February. What this means is that I am developing curriculum for a program that will enable the other facilitators and I to learn Mandarin TIP during next month because Spring Festival falls in the middle of February and therefore it is too difficult for us to get enough students to run a regular TIP Program.  It will basically be an intensive 8-hour a day program where we are taught by Chinese staff members and former students. It will be a challenging 3 weeks but it will pretty neat to be able to communicate better with our Chinese staff and the locals we see around campus and in the restaurants we eat at. I will update more  as the program gets underway.

Lastly, I thought I'd just list some things I have observed or have been learning over the last few months.

1. I am learning that it is very important to cherish the time you have with close friends and family, especially when you are given so little of it. After spending a week with my sister in Chongqing in November, and then spending two weeks with Anna and Eric, I have learned to be very appreciative of the time I have been given to spend with loved ones.
2. On a lighter note, I am learning that the Chinese people can be very blunt and direct which initially seems rude but once you realize its just the culture it makes it hilarious. For instance, I had a red pimple on my nose (so attractive I know..ugh!) and a Chinese person who I had met once before and hadn't seen for a few months said, "Oh,  you have a big pimple on your nose." What do you say to that.. "Uh.. Thanks?"  Then, I was talking with a student last week about another person, and she referred to her by saying, "Oh yes, you mean that lovely fat girl who is always so happy?"  Again, a bit awkward, but both people were not afraid to point out the obvious!

Prayer requests:

1. Pray for the students we have this session, for opportunities to share the hope we have in Him with them, and that they would go back and be a blessing to their students after learning at TIP
2. For Mandarin TIP and the ability for us as facilitators to endure 3 weeks of so much Chinese!
3. For perseverance during the second half of my year here, and direction for what I am to do after this year of TIP is over in late June. There is a possibility that I could stay for a second year here, but I am also praying about other options closer to home as well. Please pray for discernment and clear direction.
4. That I would find peace and rest in Christ daily, and trust in Him alone as each day really is a new      adventure with all sorts of different challenges and opportunities.

Thanks for reading, and please send me an email if you have the time! Also see the pictures if you haven't already.

Kyle

Stateside visitors and developing a Mandarin TIP program!

http://picasaweb.google.com/kyleghansen/WallsCitiesIceTigersAndMapleTwist (Check out new pictures here!)

Dear friends and family,

As the students constantly say during their 10-minute English speech at the end of their 20-day session, "how time flies!" It really is incredible to think that I have already been back in China for almost 6 months! And, what an exhilarating 6 months it has been.

In my last post, I mentioned that my friends Anna Veldt, Eric Chen and Kari Kutrich had come to visit me. We ended up having a marvelous time together, visiting many of the Beijing attractions including the Forbidden City, Great Wall (this time we thankfully weren't forced to camp on the wall!), and various shopping markets around the city. Some of our best times were also spent simply hanging out in my dormitory too, where Anna blessed many people on the team by making her signature (and my absolute favorite) dessert/breakfast pastry known as the Maple Twist. Give me a piece (or 2, or 3!) of cinnamon, sugar, and maple goodness and enjoyed with a vanilla latte (also courtesy of Anna) and I'm a happy camper. We also made a couple of different pancake and bacon combo meals and a marvelous Indian curry that everyone greatly enjoyed, and which had leftovers lasting for two separate meals for me and my friend Abby once they left. Needless to say it was a big blessing to have something other than my Kung Pao Chicken or Sweet and Sour Chicken go-to's and of course the fellowship and deep theological conversations we enjoyed were also beneficial and cherished.

We also took an exciting trip up to the ice and snow world known in Harbin. I think the best way to portray this experience would simply be to point you to the pictures (see link above) and allow you to read through the captions accompanying the pictures which would do more justice than anything I could write to showcase our trip.

It has now already been two full weeks since Anna and Eric left and I am now nearing the end of the January session which has been completely different than anything I have experienced so far. This is because I have been a part of developing a pilot version of a Mandarin TIP 3-week program that will be launched in February. What this means is that I am developing curriculum for a program that will enable the other facilitators and I to learn Mandarin TIP during next month because Spring Festival falls in the middle of February and therefore it is too difficult for us to get enough students to run a regular TIP Program.  It will basically be an intensive 8-hour a day program where we are taught by Chinese staff members and former students. It will be a challenging 3 weeks but it will pretty neat to be able to communicate better with our Chinese staff and the locals we see around campus and in the restaurants we eat at. I will update more  as the program gets underway.

Lastly, I thought I'd just list some things I have observed or have been learning over the last few months.

1. I am learning that it is very important to cherish the time you have with close friends and family, especially when you are given so little of it. After spending a week with my sister in Chongqing in November, and then spending two weeks with Anna and Eric, I have learned to be very appreciative of the time I have been given to spend with loved ones.
2. On a lighter note, I am learning that the Chinese people can be very blunt and direct which initially seems rude but once you realize its just the culture it makes it hilarious. For instance, I had a red pimple on my nose (so attractive I know..ugh!) and a Chinese person who I had met once before and hadn't seen for a few months said, "Oh,  you have a big pimple on your nose." What do you say to that.. "Uh.. Thanks?"  Then, I was talking with a student last week about another person, and she referred to her by saying, "Oh yes, you mean that lovely fat girl who is always so happy?"  Again, a bit awkward, but both people were not afraid to point out the obvious!

Prayer requests:

1. Pray for the students we have this session, for opportunities to share the hope we have in Him with them, and that they would go back and be a blessing to their students after learning at TIP
2. For Mandarin TIP and the ability for us as facilitators to endure 3 weeks of so much Chinese!
3. For perseverance during the second half of my year here, and direction for what I am to do after this year of TIP is over in late June. There is a possibility that I could stay for a second year here, but I am also praying about other options closer to home as well. Please pray for discernment and clear direction.
4. That I would find peace and rest in Christ daily, and trust in Him alone as each day really is a new      adventure with all sorts of different challenges and opportunities.

Thanks for reading, and please send me an email if you have the time! Also see the pictures if you haven't already.

Kyle

Christmas in China!

Happy Holidays friends and family!

While I don't think I need to be "politically correct" in China by saying "happy holidays," I thought I'd start with that because Christmas and New Years has already passed and I have failed to blog before now!

Anyways, the Christmas season in China has been quite different then anything I've experienced. Having spent every prior Christmas at home with family and friends, it has been a hard season but also rather exciting and rewarding. We spent our Christmas Eve and Christmas "in session" with our students, and this was a special opportunity to witness to our students and share our culture and traditions with them. Even though it was hard to work on Christmas, it distracted most of us from thinking about being with loved ones at home. It also was unique because we were not only celebrating the birth of our Savior but we were doing His work on the day that we were remembering his birth. If you click the link below and navigate to my new album called "Christmas Session" you will see some new pictures that will explain more. Enjoy them!

http://picasaweb.google.com/kyleghansen/ChristmasSession#

As of now, I am spending quality time with Anna Veldt and Eric Chen and we are about to hop on a train to go north up to Harbin where the annual Ice Lantern Festival is held. It's supposed to be between 25 below and 8 degrees above freezing. It will be epic!

Kyle

Class A Aces Pictures and Video!

Below is the link to a new photo album as well as two new videos. One is a video of me and my class doing our class chant I wrote for them. The second video is from an adventurous motorcycle ride that my sister and I took in Chongqing. :-)

Class A Pictures:  http://picasaweb.google.com/kyleghansen/Session3ClassAAces#

Class A Chant Video: http://picasaweb.google.com/kyleghansen/ChinaVideos02#

Since our class letter was A, I decided that we should be called "Aces." We obviously needed a song or chant to go with it to build some class pride and comraderie. The following is what I came up with. :)

Lyrics

We are we are Aces!

We are we are Aces!

We will we will rock you!

We will we will rock you!

We are we are awesome!

We are we are attractive

We are we are amazing!

We are we are Aces!

Class A!!
 
Motorcycle Video: http://picasaweb.google.com/kyleghansen/ChinaVideos#
 
Finally, I just wanted to say thank you for your prayers! As I mentioned in my last post, I have been missing home quite a bit lately with my sister leaving with the SPU study abroad group just a few days after Thanksgiving, and Christmas quickly approaching. Thankfully after a long week of rest in between sessions and after receiving multiple encouraging emails from friends and family, I am rejuvenated and ready to rock and roll in the new session that starts tomorrow.
 
This session I will have another medium+ class and will be co-facilitating with a 24 year old guy named Geoff. We're pretty excited about being two young, tall American guys teaching people who are our parents age. :-)
 
Cheers,
 
Kyle

Thanksgiving and Homesickness

Another session has come and gone. As I mentioned at the end of my last post, it was my first time with a medium-high class which was a much needed change from two very low classes. I co-facilitated again and this time it was with a girl named Laura, who is a 26 year-old second-year facilitator with a ton of energy and a great person to work with.




My lunch conversations with the students were much more meaningful as well. I was able to get beyond simple conversations about my chopstick skills, favorite foods, and China travels and on to discussions about the differences between Chinese and American culture, the challenges of being a teacher in China, and values and beliefs.



And, since Thanksgiving fell in the middle of our session, during lunch one day I was able to explain how we celebrate it and how we pray the Lord's prayer at dinner. This was a simple conversation but one where the students showed interest and a desire to understand. I also learned more about Buddhism during that meal as well. After talking about my beliefs, my student told me that she believes there was a god and goddess who were brother and sister and created the earth many years ago. I asked her where they are today, and she said that after they created the earth the god became all of the mountains and the goddess became all of the rivers. I asked her where people go when they die, and she said they go "to the west." I asked about the Buddhist temples, and she said it is there that people bring food and paper print outs of houses, cars, etc., because they believe that those who die need it in the next life. This was all very fascinating to me and revealed to me the stark contrast between our belief systems. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go much deeper than that.



Experiencing Thanksgiving over here was also really challenging. In fact, it was just this last weekend that I had to say goodbye to my sister who left China just yesterday. This, coupled with the fact that I had to say goodbye to some of my favorite students was really rough.



This has and will likely continue to be a hard season as I make it past the 4 month marker and experience my first Christmas overseas. This is especially the case because it was this time last year that I was heading home to be with family and friends for over a month long break at my parents house... it was therefore even harder to say goodbye to Lauren and see all her classmates so excited to get home. This has really put me through the ringer, but by God's grace I'm hanging in there. I am thankful He has graciously provided a big family of fellow believers for me to live and commune with.



Needless to say, I could really use your prayers during this time and the upcoming months as I am stretched and challenged in many new ways. Pray that God would remind me of His love and how He is always working for my good even in the midst of hardship. Pray for our team, that God would unite us and draw us closer during this Holiday season.



Thanks for your prayers and your emails!



PS: To end on a positive note, my class monitor who was one of my favorite students sent the following text to me towards the end of this past session after we had the TIP Talent show:

"You are a great facilitator. After arriving here, I changed a lot. Thanks for you and Laura. Tonight we all feel very excited and have a wonderful time. Have a good dream."

It's comments like this that encourage me and keep me going. :)

Class A

(more pictures to come)