This past week was a good one.  There were not too many interesting things that happened so I’ll be brief.  😉

We had some more English training from Prof. Tom Hunter (MLC) at the end of last week.  He taught us a lesson in Japanese so that we could better understand what it would be like to be learning a new language with a teacher who does not speak yours.  It was interesting.  I learned a little Japanese that day and then I quickly forgot it.  Thankfully, the Chinese is sticking a little.  We got to have three hours of Chinese on Friday!  If ever there was a mix of joy, frustration, fun, and coloring, this was it!  We learned some Chinese geography, talked about food, and learned a dialogue for haggling.  Then we practiced haggling at the ‘market’.  It was challeging to try to not use English at all, (which didn’t really happen) and it was also frustrating!

This week so far we have been talking about culture and culture shock.  Pr. Peter Leyrer spoke to us about this and directed us to a nearby Somali Mall where we were to interact with the people, learn a little about them, and try the food.  Great experience!

On another high note: I learned that I will be traveling with the team for sure on Monday the 24th.  I will arrive in Beijing on Tuesday next week

Highlights of the week:  Three-hour Chinese class (or Chinese class in general), campfire/brats/King Kong and fun weekend with friends, The Gasthof, and playing sardines at Pilgrim when the power went out because of a tornado nearby.  (Pr. Leyrer’s house had some damage and the team went to investigate.)

One of the many trees lying across the streets of Minneapolis after the tornado this afternoon.