The Minority Report

Lou Jin - Fasting

2011-12-11T20:46:00.001-08:00

This is a conversation I had with our Chinese friend Milissa. Let me know what you think. Give me some constructive criticism. What do you think about her responses?

Milissa - Fasting 12.7.11 10:00 AM

Stan:Hey... Did I ever tell you about 'fasting'?

Milissa:Not yet ~~ tell me :)

Stan:QQ? *1

Milissa:Yeah!

Stan:hi

Milissa:hi～

Stan:ok... 'fasting'

Milissa:yey~

Stan:do you know what the word means?

Milissa:fasting ...

Milissa:i think so ;)

Stan:tell me about it

Milissa:so what's the fasting ?

Stan:it's something from the bible... so is it ok for me to use a story to explainit?

Milissa:of course

Stan:k... just a sec while i find it

Milissa:haha~ ok

Stan:ok...

Milissa::)

Stan:i'm just gonna tell you the story in my own words, cause I think the story hastoo many other things in it that are difficult to understand

Stan:ce yi ma? *2

Milissa:ke yi !

Stan:ha ha... sorry

Stan:so there was this lady...

Stan:she lived in a town with no indoor plumbing

Stan:if she was thirsty, she had to get her bucket and walk to the well that wasjust outside of town

Stan:do you know 'well'?

Milissa:yep

Milissa:go on

Stan:ok... so the only place to get water was in a hole in the ground and the onlyway to get there was to walk

Milissa:en *3

Stan:she couldn't take a taxi or a bus, cause... well, there were none

Milissa:haha~ ok

Stan:they had not been invented yet

Stan:right?

Milissa:agree

Stan:hao *4

Milissa::)

Stan:so...

Stan:oh one more thing about her living conditions

Stan:it was really hot where she lived

Milissa:ok

Stan:and she was going to get water in the hottest part of the day

Stan:got it?

Milissa:yes sir

Stan:: )

Stan:so... she went out to get some water one day and she met a man at the well

Stan:the man was Jesus but she did not know it

Milissa:oh~ really '

Stan:she had heard of a man named Jesus and she had heard lots of amazing thingsthat he had been doing

Stan:but she had never seen him before, so she didn't know who he was

Stan:got it?

Milissa:y *5

Stan:so... she walks up to the well and he asks her for some water

Milissa:ok..

Stan:that's where the conversation starts

Stan:and they talk for a while and their conversation gets deeper and deeper

Milissa:o....k....

Milissa:so...

Stan:she keeps talking to him and she realizes that He knows her

Milissa:en

Stan:they have never met, but Jesus tells her things about her life that nobody elseknows

Stan:she starts to wonder if he is the man called Jesus, but she doesn't ask him

Stan:Jesus tells her that there are exciting times coming soon for people whobelieve in God

Milissa:yey

Stan:she leaves her bucket at the well and goes back down to the town to ask anyoneif the man that she just met is the man that they call Jesus

Stan:she tells the people in the town that this man told her things about herselfthat no one could know

Milissa:ok

Stan:the people that hear her talking can see that she is so excited about meetinghim

Stan:and they want to meet him too

Stan:so they start walking out of the town, to the well

Stan:other people in the town see the unusual number of people walking and come outto see what is happening

Milissa:en..

Stan:by the time the people get to the well to see if this man is Jesus, it is thewhole town

Stan:like the first lady, most of the people in the town had heard something about aman named Jesus and how he could do amazing things, but they had never met him

Stan:got it?

Milissa:yeah!!

Stan:fasting takes many forms to different people

Stan:it is always a decision to do without something that you want or enjoy for aperiod of time

Stan:in the bible there are instances where people are fasting and it means theyhave made the decision to not eat any food for a period of time

Stan:i think always in the bible if the word 'fasting' is used it is about adecision to not eat for a period of time

Stan:got it?

Milissa:ok..

Milissa:so you gonna fasting today

Stan:ok... now I’m gonna ask you something...

Milissa:go

Stan:why do you think i use that story to explain fasting?

Milissa:for remember the day they saw Jesus?

Stan:oh... good answer

Milissa:right answer?

Stan:that was not my answer, but it will help me today

Milissa:what's your answer?

Stan:it is a right answer, but it is not the direction i was thinking

Stan:the reason i used this story to tell you about fasting concerns the mindset ofthe woman

Milissa:oh~~yes

Stan:when i read the story for myself it seems to me that the woman does somethingreally cool

Stan:she went to the well b/c she was thirsty right

Milissa:right

Stan:and she gave Jesus a drink cause he asked her... right?

Milissa:right

Stan:but then they started talking and talking

Stan:and talking

Milissa:haha~

Stan:and then what happened?

Milissa:they became friends

Stan:yeah and she left her bucket and went back to the town

Stan:it never says in the story that she got a drink for herself

Milissa:haha~

Stan:it seems to me that she forgot she was thirsty

Milissa:oh~ haha

Stan:it seems to me that Jesus is the kind of man that can make people so excitedabout God that they can forget the most important thing they need to live

Milissa:you read carefully

Stan:there was no market she could go to when she got back in the town

Stan:there was no extra water for her to stop along the way

Milissa:good point

Stan:she went to get water cause it was really hot and she was really thirsty, butshe found Jesus instead

Milissa:yeah!

Stan:amazing!

Milissa:yeah~ amazing

Stan:think of a time when you were really thirsty

Stan:what would it take to make you completely forget??

Stan:i don't know what it would take for me

Milissa:but if i can talk to the man liked God, i think i will too excited to forgetanything

Stan:this woman did not make the decision to 'fast' like people in other stories inthe bible, but the mindset is what is important to me

Milissa:when the really amazing big things happen , you will be shocked right

Stan:people in the bible will fast for many different reasons

Milissa:for example ..

Stan:for example...

Stan:if someone needs to make a big decision about something in their life sometimesthey will fast

Stan:there is a story about Jesus fasting for 40 days!

Stan:40 days with no food

Milissa:wow~

Milissa:unbelievable

Milissa:still alive >

Milissa:?

Stan:I know... it is hard for me to go 40 minutes

Milissa:haha ~ na

Stan:yeah... hungry, but still alive

Milissa:but i still confuse the why ppl did that

Milissa:God allow us to hurt ourself >

Milissa:?

Stan:en...

Stan:'hurt' is an interesting word

Milissa:as far as i know God ,to be sons or daughters of God ,we should to be good,love each other course we are bro and sis , and love ourself ..

Stan:do you think the woman at the well was hurting?

Milissa:no...but the "fasting"

Milissa:what do you think?

Stan:i think it doesn't hurt to skip a meal

Milissa:that's ok , i have no breakfast for almost 4 years

Milissa:haha~

Stan:HA HA

Stan:how are you so funny : )

Milissa:thanks ~

Stan:that's an interesting example you use

Stan:do you know the origin of the word... "breakfast"

Milissa:so ..what you do the fasting for?

Milissa:no...you dont teach me yet ...teacher Stan

Stan:ha ha... break fast

Milissa:oh~~yes! huh

Stan:you eat at dinner, then you have the longest period of time before the nextmeal...

Milissa:cool~ good explain

Stan:but, the meaning of 'fast' in 'breakfast' is not about

God...just a word created to explain the first meal time.

Milissa:hey~ what's the "lunch" mean?

Stan:ha ha... idk about lunch

Milissa:i'll tell you when you in China :)

Stan:so... back to your question, "so ..what you do the fasting for?"

Milissa:yay~~

Stan:for me, today, i want to be more like the woman who met Jesus

Stan:I don't know what she was thinking exactly, but it seems to me that sherealized that God was more important than the things (water) that seem to bethe MOST important for living

Milissa:yes!!

Stan:but also...

Stan:when I asked you... "why do you think i use that story to explainfasting?" you said, "for remember the day they saw Jesus?"

Milissa:yey~

Milissa:so you did for this reason too ?

Stan:I haven't thought about the reason you said... but I will today

Milissa:haha ~ thanks :)

Milissa:i'm happy it seems i helped ! :)

Stan:ha ha... no no no. Thank you, you helped me understand what I was trying tohelp you understand

Milissa:i'll take it ~ btw i have been study Bible and try to know God for more than amonth

Stan:any luck?

Milissa:yep~ i told you

Milissa:what are you doing now? had break fast ?

Stan:nope... no food for me today, anytime I get hongry today i'm gonna think abouthow exciting it would be to meet Jesus

Milissa:oh~ you mean whole day ?!

Stan:yep : )

Stan:do you think I can make it?

(DATE)11:38:52

Milissa:i thought you gonna fasting for one meal when you said you will do it today

Stan:it seemed easy for the woman to get excited, I want to be like her

Milissa:yeah!! you can made it!

Milissa:maybe you will see God today !!

Stan:maybe... I will let you know

Milissa:en~thanks

Milissa:family :)

Stan:thanks for talking to me

Milissa:thank YA for talking to me

Milissa:hey~ will Julihua does the "fasting "?

Stan:sometimes... not today

Stan:sometimes I will tell her that I am going to and she will do it too

Stan:but she does it for herself some too

Milissa:ok~ :)

12.7.1111:55:11 am

12.7.118:24 pm

Milissa: Howyou feel the fasting now ?

Stan: Fastingis not too hard with the right motivation

Milissa: Goodjob ! Stan :)

Stan: Forme... It's not about not eating, it's more about realizing that God is incontrol of my life and nothing is more important.

Milissa: ButI'm just a little worried about you ... I was thinking last day if I did thefasting maybe it's hard for me ...

Stan: Itis something that is easy for me to forget. Fasting really helps me remember.

MaybeI can try next time w/ ya :)

Milissa: Yeah!I can understand !

Stan: Yeah...But there are no rules... You can fast for a day or a meal or a week. No rules

Milissa: Really? For what ?

Stan: Justdo it for the right reasons

Milissa: Ok!:)

Milissa: Imean what the fasting make you remember something that you forget ?

Stan: Oh...Sometimes I forget that God is in control of my life. And when I forget I tryto do it myself.

Milissa: Yeah!:)

Stan: Butmy life is never as good when I try to do what's best for me as it is when Itry to do what God wants me to do

Milissa: Ithink so :)

*1'QQ' is a program similliar to Skype or any instant messaging program.

*2'ce yi ma' is a miss spelling of the chinese phrase 'ke yi ma?' It means 'Isthat ok?' 'ke yi' means 'okay'

*3'En' is the chinese phonetic spelling of a nonverbal communication that isequivalent to an understanding head nod

*4'Hao' means 'ok, good'

*5'y' abbreviation of 'yes'... I think :)

Any Comments? part 2/2

2011-04-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

"As in water, face reflects face, so a man's heart reveals the man."
Through trial and error we have discovered that being a follower of God in China is not much different than being a follower of Him anywhere else in the world. When you care about people they tend to care about you. And when they see what your heart is reflecting, the Good News begins to not sound so scary or stupid. When that happens friendships that would have been content to stay shallow can quickly deepen.

"Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him, But if not, it will return to you."
There is a concept about making friendships called finding a Person of Peace (P.o.P.) The idea being that this person is someone who, firstly is open and interested in meaningful conversation and secondly, is interested enough to tell others. One of my good friends and mentor would describe a P.o.P as a person who, after hearing some Good News, couldn't help but tell their friends.

In part one I failed to mention that this was actually the second letter I have written, bragging on the folks at this store. From the 'contact us' section at the condiments table I had picked up a business card. The sign in front of it read, "Have any comments or suggestions? Email me (the district manager)" This is what I wrote...

"Hi Lucy,
We have met. My name is Stan. Me and my wife and friends absolutely love coming to your Starbucks! We feel we have made some really good friends with every staff member that we have met at your store. In fact some of our closest Chinese friends are members of your staff! We have also made friends with other customers in your store. The environment and atmosphere in your Starbucks is so friendly! Being Americans, we initially started coming to Starbucks because it was a place that felt like home. But honestly, now that we have met such wonderful people in your store... once we go back to America, we will go to Starbucks just to feel like we are in China again. Keep up the good work! Blessings. -Stan

P.s. Two suggestions... WiFi and coffee mugs with 'Hangzhou' on them."

Nothing too special, more of just a quick 'thank you.' The funny part is Lucy's English isn't that great and Milissa ended up having to translate it for her. So Milissa (the store manager) had to brag on herself and her store to her boss.

Relationships... "Do not forget to entertain strangers for by so doing some have entertained Angels unknowingly." As a believer in the Book that contains these words I am commanded to be obedient. Commanded to be friendly??? What an easy task. Due to this 'command' I am almost always taken back, honored, and amazed at the friendships that ensue. Looking for friendships from strangers seems to be a little counterintuitive. I think the natural mentality clings more to "your friends are where you feel comfortable and strangers are... well strangers." Obviously, there is a degree of privacy and security that most folks naturally feel when interacting with strangers. But, who thinks as they go out for the day that the stranger they may meet today will develop into life long friendships tomorrow?

In China it is easy to be friendly, but due to cultural and language differences, it is difficult to develop friendships with depth. Like in any culture, having someone you consider a good friend takes time and nourishment. The friendships that have developed with the staff at Starbucks has really been great! After eight months we are beginning to reach a point where conversations about important things are natural. (Want an excellent example of a conversation about 'important things' read Juliane's latest blog, 'Vera') Those two emails took me less than an hour to write, but the friendships continue to grow. And that's the best part of the story... Friendships!

If you pray and have got a minute pray that we can help our friends discover God. Pray for the P.o.P. at Starbucks... whomever that may be. Pray for us to have wisdom. Pray for Stan in China. Blessings.

Any Comments? part 1/2

2011-04-17T17:10:00.001-07:00

We have been making some of our closest friends at the Starbucks near our apartment. About a month ago at the bottom of my receipt was an opportunity to take a survey and get a free coffee as a result. I took the survey. At the end of the survey there was a ‘Comments’ section. Because it was an online survey I thought that my ‘comment’ might make it to some office of Corporate Starbucks in the States. This is what I wrote...

“THIS Starbucks is absolutely amazing! I am a teacher in China. I have been to probably 20 different Starbucks in China and this one is, by far, the best. I didn't go to Starbucks very often when I lived in America. When I came to China I wanted a place to go that felt like 'home'. Starbucks was that place. I returned to the States for the summer and found myself going to Starbucks because it helped me feel like I was back in my China home. Now that I am back in China I go to Starbucks for a different reason. It's not because of the location, it's not because of the size or 'niceness' of the store itself, it is the staff. They are so friendly. This Starbucks does not have Internet. To me, Internet goes with coffee better than classic sugar. Your Chinese coffee competitors have just as good of a product, usually at a cheaper price and closer to my home, but I go there because of the people. The Chinese staff all have English names. They all know me and my wife and friend by name and I know all of them by name too. I even know some of their Chinese names. I'm not sure if this will actually be read, but I hope it doesn't go unheard. The store manager's name is Lou Jin. I don't know how much voice she has, being Chinese. She's got some great ideas that someone needs to hear. For example... I know that you strive to keep all stores looking the same, but she has told me that in China, Starbucks' color schemes can translate to funeral or death colors. Chinese Starbucks would benefit from someone listening to her. I'm so glad to take the survey and brag on this store. I am a friendly person. The friendships I've made with the staff at this store are the best that I've made in my two years in China. After this term I am moving back to the States to go to Grad School. I am dreading the day I have to tell them bye, because I know that I will probably never seem them again. It will be a sad day. Thanks for giving me a receipt with a code on it so I can have a voice. If you'd like to contact me my email is...Thanks again. Blessings. –Stan"

I found out a week and a half later that everyone in that store got some kind of a prize or bonus. So, that was cool. THEN... Two nights ago... about a month after my comments on the survey... one of our closest friends and store manager, Lou Jin (pronounced Low Jean... aka Milissa… it's like Melissa, but better :) met us downtown for dinner and she told me this. “As a store manager I have to go to Shanghai for workshops and meetings. I was in the elevator going up to one of these meetings last week and someone got in the elevator with me. It was my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss... The BIG BOSS. He recognized me and knew what store I was from. He said, ‘Hi’ and the next thing he said was, ‘Has Stan gone back to America yet?’”

I’m not sure if my comments made it to a reader’s eyes in Corporate Starbucks in the States, but I know that Chinese Corporate read it. Apparently, everybody has read it. We were in another part of Hangzhou yesterday and... Well, wait, you need to know something about our city, Hangzhou (pronounced Hong Joe). It is a big place! There are around 7 million folks here. This ‘other part’ of ‘Hong Joe’ is a district pronounced ‘Bing Jung.’ It is about 2 hours bus ride from our district ‘Sha Sha.’ But if you want to take a taxi, you can get there in about an hour and to the tune of 15 dollars (the bus cost about 80 cents). So, this ‘other part of town’ we were in was no hop-skip and a jump away. We have been to ‘Bing Jung’ one time before and made a couple of friends at that Starbucks too. So, I walk in to the ‘Bing Jung’ Starbucks yesterday morning and say hello to my friend Mia. The first thing she says to me... “Hi, I read your email.”

“And we know that for those who love God all thing work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Stay tuned for part two... it’s even better! Blessings. –Stan

My 'No Boat'

2011-04-02T08:37:00.001-07:00

There are things that we remember that were our firsts'. My first bike, my first girlfriend, my first house... all things that I don't think about often, but can recall in the blink of an eye. My grand dad is going through some new firsts of his own. This is the first time that he will be experiencing things for the last time. What a concept... Have you ever thought what the last things you will do would be? What your last meal would be? What would be the last joke you hear? Who would the last person you set your eyes on before they close for the last time? What would be your last thought? Is this pleasant to think about? What if you didn't have the opportunity to realize your last lasts? Does it scare you to think about your last... everything?

The evolution of my dad's dad's name: Growing up I had a lot of 'Papas.' I had a Papa in Colorado, a Papa in Tennessee, a Papa Bear, and a 'Papa with the boat'. My dad's dad had two boats so as you might guess... 'Papa with the boat' was the name we gave him. As the years passed he sold off his boats. A couple of years ago we realized that his name no longer fit him. So we started calling him 'Papa No Boat.' We have dropped the 'Papa' and we lovingly call him 'No Boat.'

I'm here in Arizona, visiting 'No Boat' for the last time. This weekend is the last time I will have the opportunity to see his smiling face, to touch his warm skin, to sit by him on the bed as he struggles for every breath. Is it sad? Of course it is, when does death ever feel right? It always comes too soon and "just a little more time" is never enough. To deny that I want him to recover and continue to be my "Papa No Boat" would be a lie.

Having this last opportunity to be with him is such a blessing. To be able to reminisce about the past, to see him smile, to hear him say the words, "I'm really glad you are here", to see humor fight its way through all his sickness and fill the entire room with laughter, to see that classic "Papa No Boat" wink that says everything without using a word, is a 'last' for me that is of the most valuable experiences of my life.

I'm so thankful for the life and love of my Papa. He has and will always be one of the biggest influences in the life of my dad, my brother, and myself. He has sculpted us into the men we have become. His failures have been for the benefit of the McCorkle clan. His success continues to provide us with wisdom. Without him ever having to say so, we know that we have made him proud.

So this is where I am... How do I say what I want to say when I know it is the last time I will have the chance to say it? How do I wrap up an entire lifetime of experiences into words of thanks, with only a couple of hours of visiting time? Is it possible to express in words... maybe not. I'm glad to have this last time. If you feel like praying, pray for my dad. Pray for closure for the family. Pray that the time that my Papa has left will be painless. Pray that, with the time he has left, he will be able to communicate what he wants to say. Give thanks to the Father for 'last experiences.' Blessings. -Stan

P.S. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. Call someone you love just to say, Hi.

Sent from my iPhone

Location:Tucson, AZ

"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..."

2011-03-14T09:01:00.001-07:00

This is gonna be my class next week...

Title: Subtle Acts of Respect

Subtle... What does it mean?

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels unknowingly." What does it mean?

"If you've ever seen me outside of class... and sometimes even in the classroom, you'll know that I usually wear a hat. I like my blue hat. It serves many purposes for me. One of the main reasons I wear it is so that I can be recognized as "That guy that wears a blue hat." I don't need recognition, but being unique as a foreigner sometimes aids in making friends. You may also know that I like to entertain people. Sometimes, my hat becomes a toy. I like to balance it on my finger to see how long I can do it. If I notice someone watching, many times I will try to get them to try it. It's a fun icebreaker between a stranger and me. :)
Though I almost always have my hat on, you will almost never see me wearing my hat while I'm eating. In America taking your hat off is a sign of respect. Wearing a hat is not necessarily a sign of disrespect. There are circumstances where not taking your hat off on purpose could be interpreted as disrespectful. There are times when you could be wearing a hat and someone thinks you are being disrespectful even when you are not. Sound complicated? On top of that, at times there are different hat wearing rules for men and women. It is important for me that other people know that I value them whether I know them or not. Being respectful to other people and showing them that I am a nice person is a big part of me as a person. My parents and grandparents taught me that if I am at the dinner table I should take my hat off.
Every country has it's own set of subtle signs of respect. In America taking off your hat is one of those things. I have never been a person that is disrespectful on purpose. In fact, if I am aware of a respectful way to do something I will always try to do it that way. One thing I have learned about Chinese culture is that when I want to pay for something, it is more respectful to hand the money with both hands. I don't understand why. In America there is not certain way that more or less respectful way to pay for something.
There are so many ways to show subtle acts of respect. It is good to understand these subtle acts, but I don't have to understand them to do them. I am sure there are things that I do in China that could be done better or differently to show respect. What is something that you do to show respect to others? What is something foreigners should know about subtle acts of respect in Chinese culture? "
Want to help? This is a class I am working on for next week. You all live on purpose in so many ways. Our goal is to talk about things that we do on purpose because we are who we are. When they see us in action, living on purpose opportunities open up for conversations. This is class number one. Do you have ideas/examples for this class? Can you think of a passage that might go well with this class? Do you have an idea for class number two? After being here for almost 2 years there are things that we've forgotten about living on purpose in the States. You don't have to type up a word for word class, but if you have and example or an idea that you think we could expand into a class, shoot me a quick email or just a comment on this blog. Your input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Blessings. -Stan

Can you answer this???

2011-03-01T06:58:00.000-08:00

‎"Ohhh... I wish I could Skype with Jesus"... Quote from my friend Pan Pan :) She also said... "I wish there was a video of the Bible so we could see what He was talking about." lol Pan Pan is so great and encouraging. We were discussing Gen. 6.4 "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, & also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them..." and Job 1.6 "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD and Satan also came among them." Pan Pan wants to know "I thought Jesus was the only son of God, who are these other sons?" What would your answer be?

The First & Last Bite

2011-02-24T08:02:00.003-08:00

They say that you really only appreciate the first and last bite of your food. They say that after that first bite you kinda go on autopilot till you realize you've only got a bite left. I don't know who 'they' is and maybe 'they' don't know everyone 'they' talk about, but in this case 'they' seem to know me. If ‘they’ are right, and our aim is to enjoy our food, wouldn’t smaller portions, more often be the best way to eat? Furthermore... what if we only ate two bites per meal? It seems the optimal enjoyment would be to only have a first and last bite. You didn't come here to read about eating habits.

I have never been one to be shy or had a hard time making friends. When it comes to being in a new place I get excited to try out new methods of friend making that I have learned from the previous place and experiences. During our winter break we (Kevin, Juliane and myself) spent almost a full month in one city in Vietnam. While we were there we purposefully visited some of the same places... the same convenient stores, the same places to eat lunch and dinner. By doing this we had opportunities to consistently and purposefully talk to the same people. Though they were working and we were customers, they enjoyed our company and we began to stand out as different. We really enjoyed spending time with these people and made some surprisingly close relationships. Even relationships that quickly evolved into time spent outside of their place of employment. (Want to know more about our Vietnam Adventure? Read Juliane's Blog here and Kevin's blog here) The problem with relationships of this nature is we left them in Vietnam. We may never see these people again ever. Sure we may still be able to email from time to time, but 'out of sight out of mind' tends to creep its way in when distance is involved.

We have spent the last couple of days 'retreating' with two people whom we hold very dear to our hearts. From the very beginning of the process of coming to China they have been mentors for us. Without us asking, they have gone out of their way to be a part of our lives. They are John King and Mark Hooper (want to know more about John King click here for Mark Hooper click here). One thing that was discussed while they were here was the idea of being more temporary.

Be temporary... Isn't leaving 'home' and coming to China being temporary? What could be more temporary than that? This is something that I've not really considered. The more I think about this concept the more it makes sense to me. Being gone from 'home' for a year and a half now, He has taught me how to live on purpose on a new level. With this talent that He has developed in me comes new responsibilities. How can a relationship continue to develop with an 'out of sight out of mind' mentality? Did I miss an opportunity in our one month in Vietnam to say the magical words that would get them hooked on the Good news? Are there even magical words to say? If there were, would they not be revealed to us? Isn't it quite 'Bookical' for those traveling abroad to retrace their steps to aid in further understanding?

I've always felt that having a China adventure or an 'anywhere' adventure would be something where you find a place and try to settle into it as quickly and smoothly as possible. Most folks you read about didn't do that. Didn't they continue from place to place in search of those who were searching? Being long-term and temporary used to seem like contradictory ideas. They make more sense to me now than ever before. What are your thoughts? Think about the methods of men of the Book. Did they settle down? How long did they stay in one place? How often did they return? You can't help feeling at home somewhere any more than you can help being born. Are you aware of how temporary you actually are? Do examples from the Book suggest getting off auto-pilot, focusing on smaller portions of people and more often, as the best way to reach out? How can you make your interactions more ‘first and last bite’ and less mindless filler? Blessings.

Help me out

2011-02-22T07:45:00.001-08:00

In the wisest and softest way possible how would you help someone discover God based on this statement... "I don't know how to explain my attitude towards god~ I'd like to say 'fate' rather than 'god', but god is in charge of fate (lol), but when i'm faced with difficulties, i have to believe in my self, because god is too busy to bless me, I have to deal with it myself. "Anyway, I really respect god & all the people who believe god from the bottom of their hearts. I think god is a kind of belief that helps us be strong when we are faced with difficulties, but the real one that can beat the difficulties is ourselves, right? That is why we need to work hard, we need to learn, we need to help other... etc." Just comment as though you were talking to that person. Thanks for the help. :)

No Cavemen???

2011-02-16T07:27:00.000-08:00

I never want to use The Minority Report as a soapbox for issues, not applying to me as a minority in China, but I am today. So if you only read my blog to hear about how things are going with me in China, then I'll apologize for the time you have wasted reading these two sentences and tell you to stop reading now.   

Tomorrow is a pretty significant day in the true history of the world and I have never heard anyone mention it... NEVER! I don't think that I'm the only one who has never recognized or heard of anyone recognizing tomorrow for what it is either. Even if people don't want to mention the event because of the sadness surrounding it, we could at least celebrate the end of this event, February 27th. I know the argument could be made that we are running on different calendars and you may be right. But, one thing I know is that the Bible doesn't give many dates of when things happen, but it does give a date for this event. I also know that it doesn't give dates for certain things and that doesn't stop us from attaching meaning to certain days (Christmas). Not 'we' referring to a particular brand of religion, but 'we' the people who recognize December 25th as a significant day in Christianity without Biblical proof. Have you figured out what true historical event I am referring to yet? Here is a hint... Gen. 7.11

The Bible says, "In the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month" and my calendar has that day on it. Why don't we acknowledge this day? Why isn't it talked about once a year like other holidays are? Is it because of the influence of evolutionist? Aren't they mostly atheist? What would science discover if it would open its eyes to the truth? If it was accepted that when the earth was 1658 years old it started to rain. And it rained for 40 days and 40 nights. For 376 days (Gen. 8.14) the earth was really wet! What could science discover if they were not so close-minded? Evolutionists have been lying to us about the truth of the world for years. They have influenced almost everyone with their ridiculous opinions of explosions and ooze that was the beginnings of the Earth and everything on it. I was in college before I realized that the idea of cavemen/neanderthal never really happened. Not that I didn’t believe creation, just that I had never realized that they conflicted with each other. I hope I am alone and just thick in the head or a brick short of a load, but I fear I'm not the only believer who has been duped by science. The point is, from an early age we have been taught trash and told that it was fact from people who hate the Bible. Why do we allow these people who would categorize the Bible as fiction to have such a voice and influence on us? C.S. Louis said, "I have been asked to tell you what Christians believe, and I am going to begin by telling you one thing that Christians do not need to believe. If you are a Christian you do not have to believe that all the other religions are simply wrong all through. If you are an atheist you do have to believe that the main point in all the religions of the whole world is simply one huge mistake. If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all those religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of the truth." Evolutionist are not the majority, but our voice is softer than theirs... much softer. Why?

  I could never prove the truthfulness of the Bible in one simple blog. In fact, I'm almost positive that the only people who will read this are Christians already. If you are not a Christian and hate the Bible, but would be open-mined to literature that may help you reconsider the Bible as the truth, might I suggest you to read "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Louis. He was an atheist. Or try out a book called "None of These Diseases" by McMillen & Stern. If you don't like to read there's a movie called "Expelled".   As Christians we should not be afraid or ashamed of the things that we KNOW are the truth. Our voice should not be so soft as to let others drown us out. (Deep breath) Ok, I'm done... getting off the soapbox. I don't belong up there anyway.   

Here's my rough time line based on Gen. 5 & 8

P.S. I'm not trying to start a holiday, but on the 27th of February somebody better wish me a Happy Rainbow Day! Blessings :)

  Sent from my iPhone

'It's Five O'Clock Somewhere'

2011-02-13T22:53:00.001-08:00

When one comes to a new place one can't help but be stretched. Sometimes the stretch is good and comfortable sometimes it is uncomfortable. Either way, stretching creates opportunity for growth.

Our good friends Kyle and Rebecca Hooper where here with us last year in China. This year they are going to grad school at Harding Grad in Memphis. Things have been different without them. We really miss our Sundays with them.

Last night we took the opportunity to share a 'once a week meal' with our friends in Memphis via Skype. Being 14 hours ahead of our friends did not allow for a large window of time where we were both in the same day. As we fellowship-ed together Juliane noticed that it was almost 12:00AM (making it technically Monday for us in China). The comment was made that maybe we should hurry up before we 'miss it'.

It's not a huge dilemma, but I'm curious for some feedback. Do you reckon the 'It's Five O'Clock Somewhere' mentality can be applied to us meeting with our friends on the other side of the earth while 'it's the first day of the week somewhere'?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Bus 566 in Hangzhou

Dear Me,

2010-12-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Little Stan,
You are incredibly blessed. I think you understand that your parents love you very much, but do you know how much they sacrifice to make your life full of opportunity? You are going to go through trials. You are going to disappoint yourself and, at times, others. You are not perfect, but don’t worry, you parents are going to support you no matter what. Continue to watch and learn from them. They are not perfect either, but they want you to be all the best things about them. They’ll never stop teaching you about the most valuable things in life. The way they live their lives in service to others is pleasing to the Father. They will inspire you. Never stop learning from them. Don’t get to old to sit in you mom’s lap or kiss your dad. Don’t be afraid to want to be just like them.

Dear Present Stan,
Do you understand what a blessing it is to have two people that love you more today than they did yesterday and more tomorrow than they do today? They loved you before you took your first breath and they’ll love you till they take their last. They are seasoned with almost twice the amount of time on this earth as you. They have been through most of the same things you are going through. These two people STILL know what’s best for you. Listen to them. They are full of wisdom, but are ALWAYS willing to listen to you. In fact, now that they don’t see you everyday and you are ‘on your own’ they REALLY want to know what’s happening in your life. They are going to be more patient with you than you’ll understand... possibly till you’re their age with children of your own. Don’t take them for granted. Call them and tell them that you love them more often. They will always be your parents, but you’re finding that they are becoming some of your best friends too. They are proud of you. While they continue to inspire you, you’ve also become an inspiration to them. Don’t forget how many opportunities they've provided you with. You will exceed their expectations. You’ll always be one of their boys, no matter your age. Be proud of the fact that you are becoming like them in all the ways they hoped for you and more.

Dear Future Stan,
Do you realize how truly precious the time you have left with your parents is? Looking back, you may realize some of the sacrifices that they have made for you, but you may never know just how much they’ve done. By now you’ll have ‘little ones’ of your own. They will be expecting you to be all the incredible things you remember about your parents. You will inspire your children the way your parents inspired you. You’ll NEVER be able to repay the ones that love you the most, the ones that would do anything that you might succeed, the ones that would wake up early on Saturdays to spend all day doing something you wanted to do, the ones who would support you financially regardless of their own debt... Nope! You’ll NEVER be able to repay them, but don’t stop trying. The best you’ll ever be able to do is pay it forward. Inevitably, there will come a time when they are no longer around. By this time, whether you like it or not, you will have become just like them... you'll like it. In the most important ways, you will have become a mirror image of what you remember about them. Don’t be afraid of the accumulation of the loving memories of their lives to shine through in you.

The truth is, they love you for who you are and what you’ve become. You love them for the parents they’ve always been. The thing that you have in common is that you are both trying to be like the same person. That person was perfect. It’s because of His sacrifice that your parents can be such a blessing to you and you can be such a blessing to them.

Don’t forget how blessed you are!
Merry Christmas.

Shing Ba Kuh

2010-12-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

Is a cup of coffee worth 5 bucks to you? What if you were in a country where a cup of joe is one of the only things that makes you feel at home? What if that rich mug of piping hot java (borrowed that from the internet) tastes like liquid chocolate covered cherries and reminds you of the living room floor that you grew up resettling with your dad on and eating mama's fresh baked chocolate chip cookies?   While the Dark Cherry Mocca at Starbucks does remind me of all the warm fuzzies at home, it’s not the reason I regularly enjoy them.

A Chinese Starbucks creates some interesting dynamics that make it a unique place to hang out as a foreigner. 1) Everyone that works there has some degree of English under their belt and they are usually above par when it comes to speaking. 2) Often times, the customers that Starbucks attracts also have a higher understanding of English than the average panda bear. 3) There is a degree of openness and understanding of diverse cultures that the average Chinese person does not seem to have. 4) Chinese Starbucks customers have the ability to just sit and enjoy life. Being in a Starbucks can be a status issue... “Look at me, I can drink expensive coffee because I don’t have to worry about money” but not in Xiasha! If you can call half a million people living in the same area ‘the sticks’ then Xiasha is the sticks! There’s no reason to go to Xiasha unless you are a student. And you definitely would not go to the Xiasha Starbucks to make a fashion statement. In fact it is quite laughable for Xiasha to even have a Starbucks. The folks that frequent the Xiasha Starbucks seem to understand that sitting and talking with their friends in a coffee shop is a nice way to spend time. 5) Chinese folks who are NOT Starbucks regulars tend to USE foreigners to practice their English. Most of the time they will ask a question and as we begin to answer the question, they see that they were successful in asking a question to a foreigner correctly and they will just interrupt our answer (which they seem to care NOTHING about) to see if they can successfully ask another question. It's quite annoying! Chinese Starbucks customers DON'T do this. Most times they don't even acknowledge the fact that we are different. It makes me feel like we are equals... Just normal people enjoying overly priced java. Not that I feel I’m any higher than Chinese folks, but it is the way I’m treated outside of Starbucks... "oooh, a foreigner, lets try to talk to them!" It always feels weird being treated like a celebrity just because you are different. How can I seem genuinely interested in people when they treat me like I’m something special? Everyone likes to be praised by others, but for me and the sake of honest friendship, it’s a barrier. I want to be able to project that I care about Chinese folks without them thinking that it is just because they are being kind to me... It’s a dilemma for another report... back to Starbucks. Starbucks seems to provide a middle ground where the differences in culture are somewhat nonexistent. It’s almost as though Starbucks has it’s own culture. Having this neutral ground provides an excellent atmosphere for making friendships. And THAT is worth a 5-dollar cup of coffee.

Ready? Go.

2010-12-10T03:00:00.000-08:00

When I want my students to do something other than listen to me I ALWAYS say, “ready... go!” For example, all this week we have been discussing, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” About three quarters of the way into the class I ask them to write three ways they are sharpened by others, and three ways they can or do sharpen others.

I sometime will stop teaching to ask a question. When no one responds I realize that they didn’t understand anything I was saying and when the pause came after my question, they just wondered why I’ve stopped talking. So, sometimes when I say, “Ready? Go!” it is to make sure they understand that I’ve told them to do something. While that is perfectly reasonable grounds for saying “Ready... Go!” and I might save myself some embarrassment by leaving it at that, it’s not the full truth.

I was in 5th grade. We were about to take some sort of test that resembled the TCAPs... maybe it was a practice test. I knew the test was going to be timed, but I didn’t know how much time we had. Our teacher told us to get out our pencils and erasers and put up the stuff on our desks. She handed out the test and I waited... after a minute or two of waiting, I started daydreaming about... who knows? About thirty minutes later the people around me started whispering and messing around. I snapped out of my daydream and started whispering with them.

I started thinking about how much time the teacher was wasting... “it doesn’t take 30 minutes to clean off our desks and get ready to take this test.” My BRILLIANT thought was interrupted by the teacher saying, “You’ve got about ten minutes to finish.” Suddenly, I felt extremely dumb... and rightly so. So, I now had ten minutes to start and finish. On top of that, everyone around me thought that I was finished. So I had to act like I was just looking over my test, but really I was frantically attempting to correctly answer 40 minutes worth of test in ten, without my friends noticing what I was doing. I don’t remember how I did on that test. I do remember how I felt when I realized what a goof I had been.

The benefit of the doubt... I try to give my students every opportunity possible to succeed and I sure don’t want them to make the same mistake I did, ‘and THAT’S the rest of the story.’

To read more about what I actually do in my classes, I’ve got a separate blog where I post lesson plans & student responses. I welcome your comments & suggestions. To read more click here.

Woh Jung-One Hun Cha!

2010-09-25T06:38:00.000-07:00

It means, “My Chinese is very poor.” It’s usually my favorite one liner, but tonight I used it to get us out of a pickle. Yesterday we (the McCorkles & Kevin) purchased E-bikes. These E-bikes are going to keep us mobile and sane during our year out in the sticks, in a town called XiaSha. Apparently, the official law is one person per bike, but as you can see by the picture... laws in China are more like suggestions. (I didn’t take this picture and I’m not sure this is China, but if I always had my camera handy, I’m confident that I could snap a shot similar to this one.)

The scene:
It’s night and it’s raining. I have on my hat and a ‘cute’ purple poncho that came with the bike. Juliane and I are on one bike. Kev (don't know Kevin? Click here) is right beside us and we are stopped at a red light... obeying the rules while other scooter-ist are doubled up and zooming by... just running the light. There is also two traffic policemen sitting at the corner. The younger one, not being able to see from a distance that we weren't Chinese, began to speak to us in Chinese. As he got close enough to see that we were foreigners his face went from ‘authoritative’ to ‘I don’t want to upset the foreigners.’ We said (in Chinese) “Hello” Then he said some things in Chinese that we didn’t understand. Seeing that there may be some conflict brewing, the older officer began walking towards us... also speaking in Chinese. As he got close enough to see that we were foreigners his face went from ‘authoritative’ to ‘oh great... more stupid foreigners.’ Just before the older man came over the younger officer appeared to understand that the communication was useless and he was just fixing to say, “Ok bye bye.” The older gentleman began to speak louder and say the same things that the younger officer had just finished saying. The older officer was pointing to the back of the bike and then pointing to my arm. Luckily, his nonverbal communication was terrible. After he finished his rant I looked over at Kevin, with a very concerned and confused look on my face and said, “Do you understand him?” Kevin looked at him and said, “Ting bo dong” (I don’t understand you.) What the officers were trying to tell us is that it is against the law to have more than one person on an E-bike... I guess the folks that were riding two or three were ok because they were running the red light... I don’t know why they felt the need to pick us to say, “Stop, that’s against the law” but they did. So that Juliane wasn’t going to have to walk home at night and in the rain, we all played dumb. We didn't have to 'play' too hard, we really didn’t know the words they were using. They would try to explain and we seriously did try to understand them. At times during the ‘conversation’ they thought that we understood them, but when they had finished explaining that Juliane was going to have to get off the bike we just said, “Ok, we go now?” Eventually, both officers, sure that we had absolutely no clue what they were saying, allowed us to finish our journey home. The interaction made me realize that my Chinese is getting better. I knew enough Chinese to play dumb and stay out of trouble. In the end it was fun and funny for both parties and no one had to walk home.

The Great Competition

2010-09-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

For a countless number of reasons, the fall is my favorite time of the year. Here in China the leaves don’t really change... there are really not that many leaves to begin with and they usually just fall off without changing. Not much of a Fall landscape. I really miss it. So, I’ve decided to have a competition. I’ll call it “Fall for America” because that’s the cheesiest thing I can think of. I want to show my students how beautiful the Fall is where I come from.

Rules:
Post on Facebook
Tag Stan-Juliane McCorkle in the picture
There is no cap on the number of entries
Contest will begin today (09.16.10) and will end on December the 1st. Unless there are still good entries coming in... in that case I’ll extend the date.
We will mail the winner a Chinese prize that won’t be worthless, but priceless!

Good luck to you all!!!

Good Morning

2010-09-09T08:03:00.000-07:00

One of the blessings of jet lag is the early mornings. It's such a valuable time. We all have them, but I think the majority of us would rather sleep an extra thirty minutes. Consider what Mark said, "And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for Him, and they found Him and said to Him, "Everyone is looking for you." And He said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may p3@ch there also, for that is why I came out." And He went throughout all Galilee, pr3@ching in their synagogues and casting out demons."

There is a tool that we use to study. It helps us become both wise AND obedient. You start by considering His word. Then you put it in your own words... As if you were going to explain it to someone else. Lastly, (well not lastly but...) you consider the things you've written both His words & your own and you write a statement that begins with "I will..." This is where you decide for yourself what these words are telling you that you need to do or change about your life. And then... Lastly, you do it!

As the first comment, I'm going to post 'my words' & what I've discovered that 'I will' do for this next week. Please feel free to do the same. I could use the help being accountable... And I would be so encouraged by reading 'your words'.

My thought today is that I will continue to use my mornings wisely throughout this semester. I hope that you'll think about it too.

For pictures from every minute and a half-ish of the morning waking up, check out our Facebook page. @Stan-Juliane McCorkle.

A Loss of Momentum

2010-09-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

There is no doubting that being in the States for two months was a huge blessing. The comforts of feeling 'at home' are such a relief and retreat from the Chinese culture we've spent the past ten months trying to understand. From the important meetings with mission committees and shepherds, to seeing the Bowling Green Hotrods play ball, our time at home was FILLED. Being in China helped us realize that we have quite a calling while we are here (not 'here' a specific place, just ‘here' on the earth). In the two months that we were 'home' we hardly did anything to "seek & save." Ten months of seeing Him work in us was our biggest reason for coming back this year. However, in the past two months it has been difficult for us to see Him in working our lives. It's not that the things filled our time weren't good; it's just that when I am comfortable in a place it is easy to forget my purpose. One thing that Juliane and I heard on multiple occasions was, "It is so great that you have put your whole life on hold to go over to China, what an honorable sacrifice." I completely understand and appreciate the complement, but complement aside, consider the statement. Being in China has truly helped me understand that 'my life' should have gone on hold the day I decide that I decided it wasn't mine. Being in China made me understand that being in the comforts of 'home' is to put on hold the reasons why this earth is not my home. Now after being in China for a couple of days and having the chance to interact with lost people, it is easy for me to see that I have lost some momentum.

Definition time... This one is easy too!

Lost people - people who have, but are completely unaware that they even lack purpose

My thought for today is...
That I consider this place and all of its discomforts, a blessing... a reminder that I am here on purpose.

It is stated best by the author of a book called Deuteronomy, "And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

I hope you think about it too!

America the Beautiful

2010-09-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

Things I miss right away, unimportant things that is... Air conditioning, a toilet, the ability to understand everyone around me, Mexican food, driving, southern hospitality, my motorcycle, the ease of getting from one place to another, taco bell, unblocked Internet, cloudless days, fresh air, fresh milk, brushing my teeth with water from the sink, a fork, and a bathtub.

Things I didn’t miss while I was gone... squeaky breaks, car horns, bones in my food, crazy driving, standing in line, getting pushed around, litterbugs, and smokers.

My thought for today: To be patient. I hope you take a second and think about it too.

Less Tolerant

2010-09-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

It’s been a while since I've had anything to report, mostly due to the fact that for the past two months I haven't been a minority. But, here we are, round two of our China adventure.

When do I accept the Chinese culture for what it is & when do I take the opportunity to stand out? There is a line between ‘being all things to all men’ and ‘being not of this world’. I have tried tolerance, I think this year I'm going to be less tolerant. It's difficult to understand a second culture with only your own to compare with. After seeing some of the rest of the world & seeing how they interact with Americans I've decided to give the Chinese traditional beliefs less respect... maybe less weight is a better way to say it. For example, I’m going to be less accepting of their lack of patience. Last year, I accepted & tried to blend in to their impatient lifestyle, pushing their way through crowds… I’ve decided that I’m going to model patience more openly. If the opportunity presents itself, I'll call someone out on their lack of patience. This is a simple example, of course. With a year of understanding of this culture, the line can become clearer. I doubt that it will ever be an easy choice to make.

There are things that we will do differently in every aspect of this second year. Last year we explored many different types of Internet media for communication purposes. This year we are going to focus on mainly our blogs and Facebook for all of our postings.

From time to time I may feel the need to define or redefine a word for your clarity today's word is an easy one...

Think - to meditate intently on or purposefully about. The first book written to the Thessalonians explains 'thinking' well when it says to "think without ceasing."

My thought for today is that I will have the wisdom concerning the line between 'being all things' and 'being outside the world'. Take a second and think about it too!

“bible is a part of life , life is a part of bible”

2010-05-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Below is the entire conversation I had with a stranger. This person is not one of my students nor have the other conversations that I’ve had like this recently been my students. Before a couple of weeks ago my lack of experience would not allow any sort of fruitful ‘success’ to happen. This conversation has been typical of the past week and a half of my China Adventure. To be exact this is the 4th conversation I have had like this in a week’s time and they have all been a success compared to anything that has happened since we got here in September. I’d like to credit this to the compilation of understanding that I’ve attained in my time here, but the truth is I can take absolutely none of the credit because it all belongs to him who has sent me. So please, in your thoughts, say thanks. I’ve added some side notes to help with your understanding. If you scroll down and realize that it’s way too long to read, I understand and no hard feelings. I simply ask that you think about a girl named Cici.

ciciprincess: r u in china?
Stan McCorkle: who is this?
CP: a stranger~lol
SM: ha ha, i'm going to block you unless you really do know me and you are being funny
CP: oh~well , if u want to block me , it's ok~because i really don't know u~just want to make friends~ok, feel free~ (1. Such a friendly, welcoming response)
SM: that was quite a soft answer to my harsh statement
CP: that's ok~ that's ur right~
SM: i am in china. are you?
CP: me too
CP: so , u will not block me ?
SM: ha ha, i'm always up for making new friends
CP: wow~ok~
SM: are you chinese
CP: of course. and u
SM: i was just reading these words... "For i was hungry and you gave me food, i was thirsty and you gave me drink, i was a stranger and you welcomed me. i was sick and you visited me, i was in prison and you came to me"
CP: wow~i like it~so ,u mean u welcome me , not block, right? (2. Seems to have a lack of agenda... no list of questions to get through so she can move on to the next new person on Skype)
CP: lol
SM: i don't know if you are hungry, thirsty, sick or in prison, but i do know that you are a stanger. i am used to strangers on skype that are just trying to sell me something so i gave you a harsh word.
SM: but you are just a stranger and i should welcome your friendship
SM: so i will say that i'm sorry for not welcoming you at the beginning of this conversation
SM: i am not chinese
SM: but i live in Hangzhou
CP: actually , i can understand u ~because i don't want to be bothered by some bad guys neither~so i understand ur view towards a stranger, don't worry, i can understand~
SM: well actually, you seem very friendly
SM: where do you live in china? (3. i initiated some... or most of the small insignificant talk)
CP: yeaa, i believe that give everybody a chance~and if u find he/she is a bad guy after talk with him/her, u can delete him/her~if so ,u will not delete friends~
CP: i am studying in hubei university~
SM: i understand your view towards making friends and i think that you have a good view on meeting new people
CP: no , not really , actually , i am very nervous to talk with strangers in the real life~and i have few friends , but they r all very good guys~and i will cherish them through my whole life~
CP: may be online talking much easier for me ~ but i also choose friends very careful
SM: it is a wist thing to do
SM: ***wise***
CP: i will talke with the guy and judge if he/she can be my friends, and if we become very good friends in the future , i will cherish him/her
SM: what are you studying in Hubei Uni.?
CP: chinese literature
SM: do you like it?
CP: yeaa
CP: so , what's ur job?
SM: i am an English teacher
CP: wow~really ~do u like ur job? (4. no mention of "you could help me w/ my 'engrish')
SM: yes i love it
CP: u teach in school or agency?
SM: a university
CP: wow!cool
SM: I was in the Hubei Province three weeks ago
CP: wow~really ? for what?
SM: one of my friends taught in a school in Shiyan a couple of years ago
: and we went to visit some of his old students
CP: ah~i c
SM: there are some words that go "A soft answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger."
CP: is it from ur book? (5. she just asked about my book as if we had been discussing it's contents previously in the conversation... such an easy, smooth transition)
CP: just like us!lol (6. made the connection so quickly between the book and the current situation)
SM: it is
SM: yes... you have reminded me of these words
CP: it's my hornor
CP: :)
SM: you are friendly, i am glad that you said hello to me
CP: thx~fortunately, u give me a chance to stay here ~
SM: how did you find me?
CP: lol~ it is funny, and maybe it's fate~and i will not tell u ~it is my secret~but u can feel free, i have no bad thought~
CP: can u tell me which book are u reading now?
SM: it is called the Bible
SM: do you know it
CP: yeaa!but i haven't read it ~ and i plan to read it in the few days
CP: r u believe god?
CP: do u believe god?
SM: yes
SM: i study the book often
CP: i think u must be work tomorrow~will u go to sleep ?i am afraid to bother u
SM: at times i ask my chinese friends about what they think about something from the book
SM: there point of view is very interesting
CP: oh~really? i will try to study it !but i think it maybe alittle difficult for chinses~
SM: yes i understand
CP: anyway, i will try!
SM: do you have this book?
CP: no yet~ i want to buy a hardback edition one ~ because i think it is really a good book~
SM: really?
CP: yeaa~i always collect some value books ~no matter they r foreign books or chinese
SM: What do you think this means...
SM: "There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing. And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches."
CP: u mean bible?
SM: yes what do you think it means (7. she misunderstood my question to be about the bible in general so i just went w/ it.)
CP: i haven't read it~but i know sth about it~it main tell about god and jesu~it teach everyone who believe them to be a good and ciurtesy person, and never complain about life, god loves everybody.
CP: i know i just say some surface thing about it~ but if i finish it, i think i can talk it with u ~
SM: i it a difficult book to read like any other book because it is not in order (8. i worded this extremely poorly)
CP: yeaa, i have heard about it
SM: for example, it is more like many small books put together into one book
CP: wow
CP: i think it will take me some time to read it
SM: but, i study it often. i study it with chinese people sometimes
SM: i am not an expert on the book or i would not need to study right?
CP: oh ,really ? and can they understand?
SM: every time i study with someone we learn together
SM: for example...
SM: Take a moment and think about these words, "There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing. And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches." When you think you understand what it means, put it in your own words and explain it to me.
[5/31/10 12:42:16 AM] SM: i will do the same (9. i left the time on there so you could see how long of a 'moment' she took to think about her answer)
[5/31/10 12:59:33 AM] CP: i think there is a slang in chinese is very similar to this sentence~" i am so poor that i just have a lot of money" it always indicates that if a person who want to get a lot of money , he maybe use all of his life to make it~finally, even if he get a lot of money ,he has already lost his freedom to enjoy life, lost his time to spare with his family and friends, and lost his interets to follow his heart, and even may lost his personality to become a person...~and all the things he lost can not be bought by money~the poor guy may eat not very well or just live in a shelter, but he may has a strong heart , because he believe god ,believe life~he could live with this kind of conditions means he never give up his belife~sometimes ,just a hard bread will make him feel happy ,just a smile from family members will give him happiness...and all the things he own can not be snatched up by other people~
SM: My students ask me why i came to China and I use these words to help them understand. You see, there are many beautiful things to see in China, many amazing places to go, so much history, so many incredible and beautiful things to see. But, it's not why i came to China. The pay that i recieve from the school were i teach is MUCH less than i could make in America, so didn't come for money. I came to China because I believe that the love of money will leave you empty, but the love of friendship will bring riches far beyond any amount of money. I came to China to help Chinese people discover that this book can bring happiness and color to their lives that will change them forever.
CP: yeaa~i agree
SM: because you are your own person and you have your own thoughts, i have never heard what you think about this part of the book. And because you have shared your thoughts with me about it, i have a better understanding of these words. Even though i have read them many times and learned from many different people concerning these words, until tonight i have never heard what you think about it. And now that i have heard your thoughts, i have a better understanding for myself.
CP: it' s my hornor~i wish i can understand it deeply in the future~and i will try my best to do it
SM: maybe i have helped you understand these words too. But even if i didn't help you at all, you seem to understand it on your own. Earlier you said that you think this book is difficult for Chinese people to understand, but you seem to have understood it with ease. Your understanding is good enough even to tell someone else this thing that you have just learned.
SM: do you think so?
CP: yeaa~,ur words certainly help me a lot.because i am just a stranger to bible~and now ,i understand a part of it~i feel happy~and of course~i am very glad to helpl others to get the idea~
CP: in fact ,although i am not a christian, i always tell myself to be a good person ,try my best to help others ,never do anyting to hurt others,because all the good things i have done will be saw by god~he will judge my behavior and protect me (10. Thinkin about discussing "Count it all to joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." on Thursday, to confront the idea that bad things might happen even if you believe.)
CP: but , u know , to be a person without money is difficult~especially for chinese ,or especially for chinese girls~because there r so many people in china~and if u have no money u almost will have nothing to live, and the parents of chinese girls always warn them to merried someone with enough money, or at least has a apartment and a car~ sometimes , i feel sad about this situation, but i can not change anything~because we all need money to live~it is really difficult~so i always try to find a balance point between rich and poor ~so that i can live relaxed~
SM: you have an excellent point
SM: what do you think this word "poor" means in these words? (11. I'm really trying to use questions that provoke her finding the answers herself and me not giving them to her)
CP: it has two sides,one is for material things ,such as money, house,etc~one is for spirit belongings, such as love ,conscience,etc~and to be a poor person in each of these sides is difficult and horrible, so i try my best to find the balance point, and i think to be a common person is really good ~ i don't need a lot of money, just afford my life and my family , it's ok~
SM: do you think that these words are saying that if you cannot have happiness if you are rich?
CP: u mean if someone is rich ,he cannot have happiness?
SM: do you think so?
CP: i don't think so ,it all depends people's personality and person's heart~if ur heart is kind, and u know what is really good for u ,and what is the real thing u want to get , u also can get happiness with a lot of money~especially , when making money for ur family and ur love, u will also feel happy ,and have a lot of courage to do everything
SM: yes i think so too
CP: :)
SM: you are putting much though into these words
CP: thx (12. means 'Thanks' also you will sometimes see 'sth' this means 'something')
SM: i like how you have said "it all depends on a person's heart"
CP: yeaa, it's important~
[5/31/10 1:54:24 AM] SM: if you believe these things that we have just talked about what can you do for yourself because of what you have learned?
SM: i will tell you something that i will do also
SM: we can share with each other something
[5/31/10 1:57:44 AM] CP: i have said that i always tell myself to be a good person~and i will continue to keep this idea in my whole life~and affect other people as many as possible ~ (13. notice the amount of time in thought once again)
SM: i like that
CP: thx
SM: this is what i will do this week because of what we have discovered together...
SM: I will use my own money to make someone else happy in some way this week
[5/31/10 2:00:19 AM] CP: and i will also love my family ,my friends ,myself, because ,in china,we always says that if u want to be loved by others ,u should love urself and others first~
SM: I'm not going to just give money away, but i'm going to find a way to bring someone else happiness this week
SM: i like that too
CP: wow~it's really cool~and i think u will be get more mental fortune in the activity (14. could use these words on Thursday to have another discussion... "When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide. Instead be humble & give more honor to others than to yourself.")
SM: if anyone asks me why i'm doing what i'm doing, i am going to tell them it's because i made a promise to you that i would
SM: and i'm going to tell them about what we have talked about
CP: really? that's my hornor~absolutely
CP: and i am so happy to talk with u tonight
SM: me too! i am happy that you were not someone trying to sell me something... ha ha
CP: haha ,see, i had said give others a chance is give yourself a chance~right?if u block me at first.....if u finish this activity , please tell me sth about that, i will be happy
SM: yes, i will be very excited to tell you what i have done! Also i would like to hear about how you show love to your family, friends and yourself.
CP: aha.....no problem~
SM: when we talk again i will be prepared to tell you what i have done and who i was able to bring happiness to
CP: ok
SM: do you have a name other than CP?
CP: and i have to say ur really a good teacher, because u never forget to teach others how to do , even in our talk~haha, it's really cool
SM: thanks
CP: my english name is cici ,because there is a word has similar pronouciaion in my chinese name~
CP: and if u want , i can tell u my chinese name,and u can let others tell u what's that
CP: all depents u
SM: yes please
SM: you probably have guessed my name is Stan
CP: ‭__‬( 15. deleted for anonymity reasons)
CP: it is my chinese name~ maybe u can write down it , and let somechinese tell u how to read it
CP: yes ,i get it
SM: thanks
SM: can you spell your chinese name in english so that i can read it?
CP: ________ (15. deleted for anonymity reasons)
CP: can u read
SM: yes _______, Thanks! (15. deleted for anonymity reasons)
CP: the first word' pronunciation just like "______" and second just like "___" (15. deleted for anonymity reasons)
SM: _______, I want to ask you a question... (15. deleted for anonymity reasons)
CP: yes ,please
SM: when you began this conversation did you think that at the end of the conversation that you would have taught someone some words from the book?
CP: not really , i just follow my feeling about life and the result of our conversation just verify that bible is a part of life , life is a part of bible (16. blog title source)
SM: well said! i like that
SM: you mentioned earlier that maybe it is fate that we have met tonight... i want you to know that i believe that too.
SM: i believe that people meet for a reason and maybe that reason is for us to have studied the book together tonight.
SM: i believe that if we never speak to each other again that you have made me a better person from just this one conversations.
SM: I believe that because we have discovered these words together that we have the beginnings of a relationship that will be very colorful for both of us.
SM: i believe that we can continue to study together and we will help each other discover how to live a better life
SM: because like you say, "bible is a part of life, life is a part of bible"
CP: yeaa, absolutely!!!
SM: do you want me to call you ___ or ____ (15. deleted for anonymity reasons)
CP: it is up to u
SM: ha ha, ok
SM: I hope to have something to tell you by this Thursday. Do you want to talk again?
CP: yes, of course
SM: earlier you asked me if it was too late for me because i might be teaching tomorrow...
SM: i do not have any classes on Mondays
CP: wow~
SM: do you have class in the morning?
[5/31/10 2:36:33 AM] CP: no , but a have a class in the afternoon ,so now, i have to sleep~or tomorrow i will have a rabbit eye (17. it was getting pretty late)
SM: i want you to know that even if i was teaching in the morning, this conversation has been worth staying up for. it has been an honor talking with you tonight
CP: me too~ if i feel unworthy to talk with u ,i will not stay untill now~
CP: so ,never mind , i just said a joke about rabbit eye~i really enjoy talking with u
SM: i hope that i do not make you feel unworthy, because we have taught each other valuable things tonight. i hope that we will view each other as equals
SM: would you like to exchange phone numbers?
SM: or emails... or both
SM: ?
CP: of course~i really like talking with u ~ it enrich my spirit
SM: me too!
SM: _____________ (15. deleted for anonymity reasons)
SM: _____________________ (15. deleted for anonymity reasons)
CP: ok ~but , my phone number will change after few days~but i can give it to u ~and i will tell u the new one after i change another number~__________ (15. deleted for anonymity reasons)
CP: but ,one point, u couldn't call me , just send me messages, because if i talk to u in the phone , i will feel nevous~lol~haha
CP: i hope u will not mind it,ok?
SM: ha ha no, of course not
SM: text is perfect
CP: thx
CP: haha
CP: and my email is ______________ (15. deleted for anonymity reasons)
SM: ok thanks
SM: I look forward to talking to you on Thursday night, if you are available
CP: eh~one more thing~ u r 28 years old ,right?
CP: no problem
SM: do you have class Friday morning
SM: yes that is right
SM: what is your age?
CP: 22
CP: haha~u almost can be my brother~
CP: i am not sure, if i certify it , i will tell u
SM: maybe one day we will be like family to each other
CP: and if u finish ur work ,u can back to ur home early ,and we can talk~
CP: by the way ,u live in dormitory?or ur own house?
CP: yeaa, i agree~maybe~
SM: i live in an apartment on the campus where i teach
CP: wow , it is quite near to ur work place, that's fine
SM: ha ha, yes. only 5 minutes walk from my apartment to my classroom
CP: u live alone ?
SM: just me and my wife
SM: her name is Juliane
CP: wow~good
[5/31/10 2:59:05 AM] CP: well , i will sleep now~ (18. one last notice of the time)
SM: ok _______. I look forward to talking with you again. Good night (15. deleted for anonymity reasons)
CP: good night

If you’ve made it this far maybe you thought of some notes of your own... Some things you liked or constructive criticism, maybe a question about something you read. Any feed you have concerning where we should go from here or how or what or why... anything will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think
about Stan in China, I love you all.
stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Opportunities to Connect

2010-05-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

This is a difficult report for me because I don't exactly know where to start. I'll begin with an example you might be able to relate with. Are there people in your life that you are really good friends with, but don't really know how to introduce them to the father? From the beginning of the relationship you’ve worked hard to live a good example. You've got enough smarts to know it would be counter productive to smack them over the head with the book. So you work on a relationship with the goal of hopefully producing trust and opportunity to gently introduce truth. But many times as your friendship gains strength your influence can loose it. You begin to feel that a conversation concerning truth might be awkward and hope that your friend will notice your lifestyle and follow your example. As time goes on, your friendship continues to grow, but you may notice that some trends or habits have become part of the DNA of your friendship. One, you may notice subtle changes in your friend for the good, but still no drastic changes towards the initial goal. Two, the original purpose for striking up a friendship fades and you begin to be influenced by your friend... Maybe not for the better. The longer you are friends the harder it seem it is to have significant discussions about truth. In China (and all of life) our goal is to connect people to the father. In most cases relationships seem to be the easiest way to do so. The relationship seems to be a crucial element in gaining the trust of a person. But, how many times does fear of loosing the relationship you've worked so hard to gain, end up being the biggest hindrance towards attaining the initial goal?

I'm a people person & I can be a friend to almost anyone, but my friendships HAVE to come second to his will. It's important to remember who your best friend is and with spending time with him in learning his will for my life I will be better capable of connecting people to the father.

The right habits from the get go... lets try to relate the beginnings of a friendship to the creation of a ‘DNA’ of sorts (I cannot claim most of these thoughts as my own. They are things I’ve heard at various workshops.) If I let myself, my own intentions, and my interests create the DNA for the relationship, I’ve not let him live in me, I’ve gotten in the way of his will. When this happens it is difficult to reverse. You can appear to be two people... the fun friend that they know and the serious deep thinker friend. When this sort of relationship DNA is established the transition creates awkwardness in the friendship. It can compartmentalize time into ‘fun friend’ time and ‘let’s be serious’ time. Sometimes friends that are made this way will bail on ‘serious time’ and just meet you later for the fun stuff. At this point in the relationship it gets frustrating because you want your friend to be interested in being serious, but they are not. And at the same time you don’t want to loose the friendship, but they’re not showing the interest you hoped they would. It now becomes your decision to ‘be real’ with them about what’s important or just keep them as a friend and hope that one day they will come around.

It is so important to have friends, but isn’t eternity slightly more important? To really catch your eye and encourage you to read this report I considered titling it “I don’t need friendship.” I think that this may have left a negative taste in your mouth... and nobody likes the taste of negative. But, think about this idea for a moment as I’ll recall a conversation you may be familiar with.
Rich Young Ruler: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
The Son: “Why do you call me good? No one is good except the father alone. You know the rules [...]”
RYR: “All these I have kept from my youth.”
TS: “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure [...]”

In this conversation, the son was not interested in friendship, nor did he allow a friendship to begin with bad DNA. No, the son was willing to help the RYR connect with the ‘one that is good’ but he was not willing to let any sort of selfish intentions inhibit that connection.

As I mentioned in my last report “I Can't Be That Attractive” there are so many reasons that Chinese people would want to be my friend. My goal, however, in making friends cannot be about me and what I like or who I like or things I’m interested or things I want out of a friend. I cannot be closed minded to people & interests that don’t interest me. I cannot only focus on people that I have things in common with, people that are pleasing to my eye. I must be looking for opportunities to connect people to the father, regardless of if I think the person is someone whom I would like to be friends with. I think maybe some good examples of people I wouldn’t expect might be those who are hungry, thirsty, strangers, sick, and prisoners.

I hope that this report is well received. I think this idea of friendship being a byproduct and not the goal has proven to be a little difficult for me put into the right words. I may go back and read this report and realize that it’s not what I was trying to say at all.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to think
about Stan in China, I love you all.
stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

I Can't Be That Attractive

2010-05-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

There are so many things about American culture that are attractive to people who are not Americans. It's not necessarily because they think that the stuff we do or the things we have are better, sometimes it's simply because American culture is so different than their own. For this reason it so important that I remember my purpose in my everyday life. Just as in the States, I am watched because of who I am. Children watch me. I'm watched by my peers. I'm watched by those who are much wiser than I am. You are too. We live an example everyday. The difference between being watched at camp & being watched in China is how much I don't fit in. From my poor attempt at their language to my big nose, I'm different than them. No matter how much I know how to fit in, no one will ever confuse me for a man of Chinese descent. For this reason it is extremely important that I live my life so that people see me as different. In the States this is not so difficult because well, I'm Stan. Here in China it's difficult to truly stand out and be different for a couple of reasons...
1) From other foreigners... As a foreigner the Chinese people are naturally drawn to me. We are treated like royalty. It is important that my lifestyle isn’t the same as other foreigners that the Chinese encounter. I must be different than them. 2) People are kind because they are interested in talking to me. Having foreign friends bumps a Chinese person up in their social status. 3) They want to practice their English. This is usually frustrating and funny at the same time. The type of Chinese person that will just come up and start talking usually doesn’t care about my answer. They will even interrupt my answer with their next question. It is as though all they care about is seeing if we understand the question they’ve asked. Once they see that, they will move on to their next question. 4) They are taught to treat us with the utmost respect. For example, when we are on the bus I will try to give my seat away to someone who I think might need it. This has turned out to be a huge failure. They are taught so much to treat us with respect that I can’t even give my seat away. It could be a 85-year-old woman that I get up for and she will insist on standing up and not taking my seat. 5) They will even befriend a natural born English speaker because they know that at some point they will need some help. We have known people who seemed so interested in studying, relationships and trust were being built, everything was going absolutely perfect, and then one day they ask a favor (like to proof read their main project for another English class) after that is done they completely disappeared. Read Kyle's blog "Jojo Is Missing". We have even had a guy invite us to dinner. He came and brought his girlfriend. We told him to order because we didn't know what to get or what was good. He tried to order some real expensive things but we said no. They ended up not eating. We had a good conversation paid for our food and left. During the meal he asked to 'have a photo' with us. At the end of the meal he mentioned 5 rmb (Chinese dollar) that was not on the bill. Due to the language barrier I just let it go, but I ended up paying 5 extra. Turns out he works for the restaurant and charges customers a 'tour guide' fee. A few days later we found out from another foreign teacher who spoke pretty good Chinese, that the kid was using the picture of us that he had taken on his cell phone as advertizing for his own personal gain. My point is that a Chinese friendship is not always what it seems. But this is no shocker... people all over the world will abuse a friendship for personal gain. My goal needs to be that Stan is not what attracts people to me, but He that lives in me. When He shines in my life I can know that people are drawn to me for the right reasons.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to think about

Stan in China, I love you all.

stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Who’s going to ‘verb’?

2010-05-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

At Hartsville Pike there’s a new person who speaks from a stage on the morning of the first day of the week and in the evening. This man has a name. His occupation is a noun and what he does is a... verb. Now, maybe the title of this report makes sense.

We have a long weekend last week. Last Monday (April 26th) was the Chinese Labor Day. Tuesday was ‘youth day’ which means that everyone under the age of 28 gets the day off. We decided to take advantage of our long weekend and go see some Chinese family we have in central China. It is a place called Shiyan (pronounced Shree in). It’s 3 hours plane & 5 hours bus from Hangzhou. These kids were some of Kyle’s students in 2005, the first year he came to teach.

Saturday night as we were discussing plans for the morrow’s activities (‘the morrow’?... who even says that?! It just sounded right this one time.) Kyle suggested, “Lets make plans for ‘another verb’ tomorrow.” (This is the thing that is asked... expected of us, as a family, to do on Sundays to please Him. Hint: It is similar to the word for a big boat that partakes in working for its country; ya know... a war ship. In case it pops up later in this story we’ll just call it ‘another verb.’) So... the first and ONLY thing that one of the Chinese kids asked was, “Who’s going to ‘verb’?”

Obviously, I can’t relay exactly the tone and meaning of his question, but consider the significance of the question for a minute. What is the main focus of our ‘another verb’ on this day of importance? Is it the same as the people of old times? True, ‘verb’ing is important, but is it the ONLY thing that is important? He seemed to ask the question as though to say, “I don’t know who’s the most capable... not me.” Consider the folks of old and their excitement of being together to ‘another verb.’ Did it only consist of one person being responsible for the entire groups attaining of wisdom? Another question, why didn’t he feel capable? We could meditate on the sad significance of this statement for a long time. That’s not what I want to focus on though.

This week I ask of you to think of me and how I interact with people. That, when opportunities arise to teach, I will not give knowledge, but be prepared with a question that will cause them to search out their own answer. That, I can influence those who are searching for truth to look in the book with answers rather than a person. So that, four or five years from now, when other foreign teachers come for long weekends to relax and retreat with some Chinese family, they will have the tools and excitement of the people of old times. That they will never NEED a foreign face to ‘another verb’ or have to ask the question, “Who will ‘verb’?”

Thanks for reading, don't forget to think
about Stan in China, I love you all.
stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

“Heart Smiles”

2010-04-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

I’m working on a separate blog site designated for what I do in class and student responses to class. It’s not ready yet, but this is an example of what you will read there...

A quick bit of background information. I’ve been working on a progression of study habits with my students in hope of empowering them to understand that they can learn and teach each other... cause I won’t be there forever, ya know.

Week #1: “A soft answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Assignment: Work together (as a class) orally to discover what this means.

Wk #2: “If I speak with the tongues of men, But have not love I have become like sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of understanding all mysteries and all knowledge, But have not love, I am nothing. And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and even give my body to be burned, But have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; Love does not envy; Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; Love does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Assignment: Work in small groups. As a group write this in your own words. Discussion to follow.

Wk #3: “See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves & for all. Rejoice always, in everything give thanks.”

Assignment: Write in your own words by yourself, discussion to follow.

Homework: Call 5 people and tell them that you are thankful for them. Email me, tell me who you called and how it went.

Wk #4: “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”

Assignment: Write this in your own words as though you had to explain it to someone else.

HW: Encourage 3 people you know & 3 people you don’t know. If they ask you why, give them the explanation in your own words.

Wk #5: “There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; and one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.”

HW: Lead a discussion about these words with your roommates. Be prepared to talk about your discussions in next week’s class.

This is to the present and here is an email response to this week’s class from Vivian.

“This week's assignment is sentiment saying "There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; and one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches"  I think this sentence is actually convey a sense of values, the wealth of life there are many, there are intangible, there is tangible, there is visible, there are invisible. And people sometimes are more concerned with external wealth, while ignoring the rich inner sense of spiritual food is also an asset. Is like we are now, albeit not to busy office workers who are more external than wealth, but we gain knowledge every day, this invisible accumulation of wealth to create more tangible wealth. Another example is the person who left a great spirit, the power of example than this to give you more money to the long-lasting. Life on the case, should have an optimistic open-minded attitude, you will have more. Thank you teacher last patient response, very thanks, praise and encouragement for you I am very happy, haha, and thank you for your confidence in me, leaving your phone number, your class make we heart smile, that happiness is a unique asset it, ha ha”

I’d love to hear what you think I should say to Vivian in response to her email to me. Please think about it. I know there is opportunities here with her and her friends. I know what I would say to her, but I’d love some outside perspective from you.

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all.

stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Our floors are still dirty

2010-04-11T02:52:00.000-07:00

A month ago we were in the midst of making a big decision... should I buy a good mop. We’ve yet to make a purchase, so our floors are still dirty. In other news, we have decided to extend our China Adventure another year. After hours of thought, weighing many pros and cons, getting feed back from our loved ones and friends, & discussing with the rest of our group we’ve decided to stay.

“What does this mean for our summer?” you ask. Well thanks for asking I’ll tell you. Part of our contract says that if we resign for another year the school will buy us a round trip ticket from China to the States and back. We will be headed back to the States just after school ends. We are so excited to tell everyone face to face about this past year! We hope to have some time on Sundays to speak to large groups of family about the things we’ve learned. On top of that we’d love to have our weeknights filled with conversations over a dinner table. If you are interested in having a night with the McCorkles to discuss China please let us know!

Now that we’ve decided to stay we have a new decision to make. Most of our friends who live close to us have decided to go back to the States. There is only one of our seven who has decided to stay, Kevin. Kevin lives about an hour from us in a district of Hangzhou called Xia Sha (pronounced “Sha Sha”) designated for universities. The decision is this... should we stay where we are (Shuren University) and build on any type of momentum we have gained or try to move out to Xia Sha where we will have more people to work with.

If we stay where we are & he stays where he is we are not likely to work together with students outside of class. Xia Sha is a university community and there are LOTS of students to spend time with. There are all kinds of pros & cons that Juliane and I have yet to discuss. I just wanted to report to you the opportunity that may have opened up to us about next year. I hope that you will spend a little time specifically thinking about this decision for us.

We know that there is a plan for us. We have our opinions and preferences, but we will be happy with whatever the future holds.

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think
about Stan in China, I love you all.
stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

p.s. I think that lots of people try to comment on my blog and for some reason it doesn’t work. Instead of trying to comment, just slap it to me in an email. I welcome your thoughts. Thanks.

“Such a fish?”

2010-04-01T11:57:00.001-07:00

When people years ago heard Good News they would tell people about it. Even if they had not completely understood or put this news into action for themselves, it didn’t stop them from telling others. If you remember, there was a woman at a well who had a conversation with a man about water and life. She was so astonished at what he had to say that she went back to the city and convinced many to come out and ‘have a drink.’ Thanks to the encouragement of a woman filled with excitement many people heard things that made their lives unimaginably better for an eternity. My point is that anyone has the ability to tell good news regardless of the stage of their own personal walk towards water & life.

As I have mentioned already, this term I am starting each class with some words of wisdom. This week’s topic is, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” I am showing a video about the making of a Samurai sword. This helps with the understanding of the ‘iron sharpening iron’ part. Then we talk about how one person can sharpen another. Somewhere during class I throw in the fact that these words of wisdom are a simile of sorts. And we discuss the comparison between iron-to-iron and friend-to-friend. I split them up into groups and they create skits on what they think it means. After the skits we discuss the word ‘Gu Li’ which just happens to be the word of the week!!! It means encouragement. I ask them, “What does it mean to be encouraging? Do you give or get more encouragement?” They all have journals for my class. For their homework I’ve asked them to write this in their own words, as though they were going to explain it to someone else. Also, they have to encourage six people, three that they know and three that they don’t. If they are asked, “Why” by any of the people they are encouraging, I’ve challenged them to tell the person about how iron sharpens iron.

Think about this for me and for the ears it has fallen on this week. I’ve copied & pasted the first response I’ve gotten to the homework. Have a look...

Hi,Mr Stan,

I called my father yesterday ,he had some problems in business.I never saw he was so anxious.The only thing i can do is tell him that he is my pride forever, i hope he can take it easy ,and i promise to him i will take care of him an my mother when they are old.

I also called my little brother ,i call him ever week,he complained to me that his school was poor ,the students were not friendly to him ,he didn't like everthing in that school,and didn't feel like learning anymore. I'm worry about him ,i told him that all things are difficult before they are easy.try to make friends with the classmates.

The third person i encouraged was Gloria.I found that she felt down those days.I asked her why and told her everything will be fine.

I encouraged three other people that i didn't know in my QQ。i saw a net friend seemed broke up with her boy friend.I told her he was not the only fish in the sea ,why get absessed such a fish?

There was another people who likes play computer games vary much.I told him not to play it too much .leave some time to stady and relax.

I saw a net friend always online untill late night ,so i told him it was bad to his health.he would better took care of himself .

Summer

The great thing about giving this sort of homework is that I get to have conversations with my students outside of the classroom about important things all throughout the week. With a little over 250 kids all sending me emails it has kept me busy. But as you can see, the responses are quite rewarding. Other than the important stuff my favorite line is the reference to the many fish in the sea, “Why get so obsessed over such a fish?” (I ‘un-chinglished’ it) My response to Summer was this...

Dear Summer,

It sounds to me like you are a good daughter, sister, and friend. I think that your father was so proud to hear you say what you said to him. I think that you had good advice for you brother too. It is obvious that you are a good friend when you can tell that something is wrong with one of your friends. Good job giving encouragement to others. The things that you have said to your loved ones shows me that you are a wise young woman. Thanks for sharing with me. I pray often and tonight I will pray for your father, brother, and Gloria. -Stan

My goal for these assignments is to find "such a fish" whom may be interested in doing more than just homework. Keep my students in your thoughts that they will have a drink and consider water & life.

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all.

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

p.s. I try to keep my reports a little serious, but i also have a video blog that I call Minutes of Amazing. On it I post things that happen in my day to day life. Interested in the sights outside our closest grocery store? You can see it by clicking here... http://stanmccorkle.multiply.com

Shout out: Caleb Bullock

2010-03-23T12:11:00.001-07:00

There are so many people we have to thank for so many different things. This section of The Minority Report is devoted to highlighting some of those people. I will try to do this in some type of order and I think that Caleb is a great place to start.

To me the term, 'Young Man' has a negative connotation when referring to some one who might actually wear the title in a literal sense. The term ‘Young Man’ makes me think of a little boy who has done something good and is being rewarded verbally. Age wise, he’s not really a young man, but it is an encouraging phrase of endearment to direct towards little impressionable ears. Caleb Bullock is not a little boy. He is a heartfelt, genuine... young man. This amazing young man has been such an encouragement to us since we've been here. A couple of weeks after i got to China my mom told me that he had changed his watch to 'China Time' (13 hours ahead) so that he would THINK of us when he looked at his watch. When my mom told me that my eyes filled up with tears. What a thoughtful... young man! It takes someone with a big heart for them to make us that big of a change in their daily lives just as a reminder to remember someone. Because of this drastic and sudden change in lifestyle he not only remembers us when he checks the time but he takes time to meditate on us. It is hard for me to put into words how much that means to me. I’m not only thankful for his thoughtfulness... Caleb sets a great example for all of us to follow. We read that as family we should think of one another daily not just out of habit, but because as family, we truly love & care about each other. There is mention that we should think intently of one another. Not only should we think, "Be with this person” but to think about them as though you were there with them. I'm thankful to know Caleb & I'm thankful that there are others like him. I know that I have been blessed in my China Adventure because of it. So in honor of Caleb I have dedicated a piece of wall in our apartment to remembering him and to the rest of my family daily. As I look up to check the time I will meditate on my family in the States and be thankful to you all.

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all.

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Standford's Schedule

2010-03-22T00:01:00.001-07:00

It’s a beautiful thing my schedule is. Last semester my classes were all just flung around the week all willy-nilly, but this term... Our contract says that we have to teach 16 classes a week. There is a twinge of Chinglish in this statement. Their definition of a class is our definition of a period. Periods are 40 minutes long. Some classes are 2 periods and some are three. There is a 10-minute break in between periods and 15 minutes in between classes. So technically, the most classes you could have would be eight 2 period classes. Last term I had 7 classes. This term I have six, which is the least number of classes you can have! The ‘draw back’ is that four of them are 120 minutes long. I put draw back in quotes because it has been quite a blessing & not a draw back at all. I wouldn’t tell the English department this, but I wish all 6 of my classes were three periods. My goal for this semester has been to start every class with some Words of wisdom. Read it again, I said just “to START every class.” The discussions have been going so well that we have been ending each class on the same topic that we started class with. So they haven’t used their English book in my class yet... we’ve only been using His English book. Because I have two classes that are only 80 minutes, I’ve been having to cut out stuff that I’m doing with the longer classes. All around this semester has been a blessing and I have no reason to think that things will change. I know that you are thinking about me and my classes because I see the outcome of your thoughts daily. Thanks. Below, is my schedule for this term (I converted the times in red to the central time zone for your convenience).

Tuesday:
8:10 – 9:40 am
(Monday night 7:10 pm – 8:40 pm)
6:10 – 8:30 pm
(Tuesday morning 5:10 am – 7:30 am)

Wednesday:
8:10 – 9:40 am
       (Tuesday night 7:10 pm – 8:40 pm)
9:55 am – 12:15 pm
       (Tuesday night 8:55 pm – 11:15 pm)

Thursday:
9:55 am – 12:15 pm
(Wednesday night 8:55 pm – 11:15 pm)
6:10 – 8:30 pm
(Thursday morning 5:10 am – 7:30 am)

You may notice that my classes are nicely placed in the middle of the week, leaving me without a class to teach on Mondays or Fridays. This has been a huge blessing. It has allowed me to be much busier doing things with students outside of class. It is one of the reasons my reports have been less frequent this term. It’s been difficult for me to report what’s going on because so much has been going on!

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all.

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Discovery

2010-03-17T23:31:00.001-07:00

Last week was the beginning of the second term. I have a completely new batch of students and I’m glad. Because of last semester’s mistakes I’ve tweaked my teaching style quite a bit and I’m thankful for the fresh start. I began my first week of class by writing this on the board, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”(written in Chinese in the picture above) There were mutters of the words as I wrote them, I then turned around, looked at them for a moment and asked, “What does it mean?” I got some blank stares... ‘Deer in the headlight’ looks, but most of them wouldn’t even look at me. I knew this would be their reaction, but I was going to use the awkward moment to my advantage later on. I could see in their little hidden Chinese faces, they were wondering if I was going to say anything else or just stand there till someone said something. I waited a minute to let the awkwardness settle in. Then we began to work through the proverb together. We began by discussing the words individually. “What does the word wrath mean?” As soon as the question left my mouth they were on the Internet via their cell phones aka English dictionaries, looking up the word. They gave me other words that mean wrath and even taught me the Chinese word for it ‘Fen Nu.’ We continued on through with other words and phrases that they struggled with such as harsh, ‘soft answers,’ and ‘stirs up anger.’ I let them use their cell phones in class because I want to set the standard that says they can find answers on their own. I want them to realize that I am not going to give them a right answer after we discuss it, but to encourage them to know that they can find truth on their own. Once they understood the pieces they put it together in their own words. And so I asked again, “Ok, what does it mean?” The second time they had answers that they discovered on their own. I made sure that they realized that they had learned together, from their own group of classmates and that they had even taught me something about these words. The following week I gave them this... “If I speak with the tongues of men, but have not love I have become like sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of understanding all mysteries and all knowledge, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and even give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; Love does not envy; Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; Love does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” At first the students gave me the same scared looks as the previous week’s thirteen words gave them. But this week I reminded them of how confused they were at the beginning of last week’s class and how the end of class they understood with ease. They wrote this one in their own words as small groups. I did not help them at all and they discovered love.

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all.

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Should I buy a good mop?

2010-03-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

Before I begin this report I’ll admit, I have a strong urge to explain why it’s been so long between reports. I’ve truly been torn between attempting to catch you up or start fresh and add ‘catch up’ reports later. The things happening at hand are just as important as the past couple of months, however, the issue at hand, my mop, is much more important at the moment.

Since the beginning of September when Juliane & I got here we have kept a weekly, sometimes daily check of how we feel about China. From “Hate it” to “Perfect, well... near perfect” from “If one more person bumps into me I’ll...” to “I forgot I was in China” our check ups have been quite widely ranged. My point is that the question, “Should we stay in China for another year or go home?” is not an uncommon occurrence. Just the other day I was mopping. I reached down to squeegee out the mop & I noticed that it had come loose from the handle. It will not squeegee anymore! So naturally I went in the bedroom irritated with the cheap craftsmanship and asked Juliane, “Are we going to stay here another year?” she looked at me disturbed & said, “I don’t know, maybe.” There is a really neat mop rig here in China that I’ve not seen in the States. (I’m going to ignore any comments made about the fact that I’m enthralled by a Chinese mop.) I would have already purchased one, but it is more expensive than the current 67-cent broken mop that I now own. Given the price, you might be surprised that it lasted almost 4 months! If we stay, I’m buying a good mop. If we don’t, I can handle dropping another 67 cents on something that might last till we leave.

There are so many factors concerning staying or leaving. We’ve come up with many pros & cons. Our lists contain everything from coming back to finish grad school to staying right where we are because we would not have to move out. Among the trivial reasons to stay or leave we’ve also considered the not so frivolous ones. It’s caused us to ask some serious questions. What if the ‘want’ to be in China is not as big of a deciding factor as the ‘need’ is? Does China need me? Do I need China? As I consider these questions I reflect back on the growth, both up until leaving for my China adventure & since I’ve been here. Do I need China... The number of ways I have grown is too many to count. China has definitely been a blessing to me. Does China need me... Lets say that the world is like one big field. On this field there are some places that are good for growing crops. There are some places that are harder to get to, but the crop is still good. In these places lots of the crop just sits and gets rotten and dies without ever being harvested. I wouldn’t say that I think China needs me, but I am willing to be where the crop is potentially good, but the labors are few.

So this is where we are, full of pros & cons, seeing all of the crop that can be harvested, wondering what we should do with the next year of our lives, and walking around on dirty floors. And so the most important question is, should I buy a good mop?

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all.

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Encouraged!

2009-12-16T10:23:00.000-08:00

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been a little culture shocked. It’s not been the worst time in my life, but I’ve been better. One thing that is keeping me encouraged is knowing that my parents, Danny & Layna are headed here, to China very soon. I don’t know if anyone has told you lately, but it’s possible that I have the bestest parents in the world. Before Juliane & I even left the States they were saving money to come visit us. They don’t care about the sights or attractions. They don’t care about the jet lag. They don’t even care about the foods I’m going to make them try... (shhh, actually I don’t think they know about the food deal yet). I asked them the other day on Skype, “Uh, do you guys know how to eat with chopsticks?” Do you know what they said? “Uh, nope.” and do you know what?... They’re not worried about it at all. They don’t care that China is on the other side of the world and it takes a long time to get here and a long time to get back. They don’t care about all of the stair climbing or walking they are going to have to do everywhere we go. They are not worried about being in a completely foreign country and not knowing a lick of Chinese. They haven’t even mentioned the fact that they are giving up their ‘Tender Tennessee Christmas’ to be in China. All they care about is seeing us and doing whatever it is that we do from day to day. Aren’t they the bestest?

Juliane and I were talkin about how excited we are for my parents to come and also how great of a feeling it is to get a letter in the mail. Just a little reminder that someone is thinking of us... or was thinking of us three weeks ago when they sent us the letter. You all have been so thoughtful towards us and we can’t thank you enough! We have some family on Hartsville Pike Rd. who wrote little notes to us before we left. Juliane was real excited to read them but I made the decision to read them when I was feeling culture shocked. I read a good size handful of them today and still have about six handfuls unread. Aside from the snide remarks of Juliane needing to keep me inline these notes have been a HUGE encouragement to me. My eyes filled with tears as I read each one, just as they are now as I recall it back to you. From a touching thought that not even Halmark could beat to a picture of a hand traced by a little one too young to write a note, have been one of the greatest blessings and most prized possessions that we brought with us from home. So from the bottom of my heart, Thanks.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Teach Something

2009-12-03T22:02:00.000-08:00

Recently I've been trying to post daily videos on The Minor Reports, a separate video blog that I've created for things I'd love to report on but just don't enough time for. These entries with all the words take a long time ya know! Anyway I feel that my 'Minor Report' for the day is 'Minority Report' worthy. Class periods are 40 minutes apiece (spell check is telling me that ‘a piece’ is one word... I don't think it is but I'll trust spell check). All but two of my classes are two periods long. My Thursday and second Friday classes are three periods. My students have been doing presentations that have been lasting the entire class. Today they ended early and I realized that I had one more period of class to fill. So, continuing on with Something, Someone, Somewhere, we had a discussion.

Their comments were very thoughtful. All of the words underneath the Words of Wisdom were words that they gave me to show me that they understood the meaning. I gave them 'homework'. They have to tell someone else about what they learned or they have to find an angry person and be ready with a soft answer. Now I would like to give you the same challenge. In this next week look for an angry person and see what happens when you have a soft answer for them. When you find out for yourself report back to me... I'll do the same for you as will my class. Being able to share with my students, your experiences will produce some good conversation.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to think
about Stan in China, I love you all.
- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Tragically Helpless

2009-12-03T10:35:00.000-08:00

Warning... This post is in no way humorous, it is graphic, and it might make you cry. I use The Minority Report as a window for you to view China. Today I saw the saddest thing I have ever seen. I truly do not want to talk about because it was very hard for both Juliane & me. Even now as I recall the event my hands are shaky. I only report it to you so that you can think about it and the people involved. We were in the kitchen of our apartment when I suddenly heard a loud crash. The first thing I saw as I looked down at the street was a boy covering his girlfriend's face and running in the opposite direction of the noise. As I panned across from right to left I looked towards the street to see if there had been a wreck. There was nothing unusual about the street and as I panned back across I noticed a car that had backed into the security building at the entrance of the school. The engine was revving and revving and revving but nothing was happening. I could hear a girl screaming but I could not find where she was. Then I saw it. The girl was in between the car and the building. I was too far away to physically help so I ran to the bedroom to get my cell phone. The emergency number is different in China than 911 and I knew it, but I could not call it because they would not understand me. I feverishly searched my contacts to see whom I could call that could call for help. I tried to call four different Chinese people and no of them answered their phones. I felt tragically helpless. By that time I could see people on the street on their phones and hoped that help arrive soon. The girl was still pinned and the girl that was with her was screaming for help. Finally a large amount of students grabbed the car and pushed it out of the way. As the car moved I saw the girls body fall out of sight. It took a few minutes, but a police officer finally appeared at the scene. From this point on in the story my feelings went from sadness to anger. In that few minutes right after the accident there was zero crowd control. The security guards acted as bystanders, the bystanders crowded around the accident and took pictures with their cell phones while the girl lay there in whatever position she fell to. I hoped that things would change when someone official showed up, but it didn't. The police officer arrived with his clipboard, began to take information about the car, took a photo of the front license plate BEFORE he went to the back of the car to see about the girl. He took a photo of the girl and the back of the car, and then walked back to the front of the car to finish his paper work. The officer NEVER offered to help the girl nor made any attempt to keep people from walking up and just looking around. Finally, after about fifteen minutes an ambulance appeared. *Note* There is a hospital within fifteen minutes walk of the accident. The men casually got out, walked over to see the girl, then casually went to get the stretcher. By the way everyone was moving so slowly, with no urgency in their step, I was convinced that the girl had died. The stretcher that was in the ambulance was the oldest looking stretcher I have ever seen. They sat it beside the car and walked over to where the girl was. Then I saw them pick her up by her hands and feet and carry her to the stretcher. I could not tell anything about the girl by seeing her whether or not she was alive. It looked like her friend was talking to her as they rolled her into the ambulance. That is all I know about the well being of the girl. I will keep you informed if I find out anything else. After the ambulance left I noticed that there wasn't anyone standing around that appeared to be the driver. After talking to another foreign teacher in our building, Joshua, I understood why. He explained to me that the driver of the car more than likely ran away. For the safety of his life he ran away. Although gang & mafia activity is not visible in Chinese society it is very much present. Joshua continued to explain that it is not unusual for a family to hire a hit man in a situation like this. How sad is it that this man might fear for his life for the rest of his life due to an accident. By the way, this is what I think happened... The driver thought he was in first gear and pulling out into the street but really he was in reverse. As I said earlier, after the loud bang, I heard the car revving over and over. I think that he was still trying to go forward but backing up harder and harder into the girl and the wall. I never saw him run away, I just noticed that he was gone. Something else that is so sad to me is that even when a life was at stake, the Chinese continued to do their job and that only. Other than the group of people that pushed the car off the girl, nobody did anything that wasn't their job. The security guards stayed close to their posts, the police officer did his paper work, and the people walking by only stopped to take a picture. As I sat and thought about everything that I had just witnessed I became very discouraged about being among the Chinese people. I thought about why their culture told them not to get involved, who influence them to never stray from their routine, and why do they have such a great fear of failure. Then I talked to Him. I realized that the sun shines and the rain comes to all. I realized that all things work for good for those who love Him. I realized, like never before, that I have the opportunity/responsibility to make a lasting influence. Please think about this girl, her family, the driver, the conversations that I'll be involving myself in due to this tragedy, and mine and Juliane's emotional pain.

Thanks for reading, I know your thinking

about Stan in China, I love you all.

-stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Word of the Week: Shu da

2009-11-29T11:38:00.000-08:00

This word 'Shu da' is perfect for this week... I mean there couldn’t be a more perfect-er word for the week I am fixin’ to have (Confused? Read the last part of Holladay, Celebrate!). You might be thinking, “How could the word of the week get any more appropriate than it was last week?” Well I thought you might be thinking that and so I will tell you. At the beginning of the semester one of the three projects I gave my students was an interview. This interview was videoed and I asked them questions about themselves. The last question I asked was, “Teach me a Chinese word or phrase.” I got so many different answers but this one, shu da, stuck out more than any of the others. The word means, “Remember us.” The student that taught me this word was thoughtful enough to realize that our time together was short. So he wanted to teach me this word for when I left China I would remember he and his classmates. I think it would take a pretty good knock in the head for me to ever forget these wonderful people! So from him, to me, to you, we all say shu da!

Thanks for reading, shu da

Stan in China, I love you all.

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Do you remember the previous

Words of the Week?

Huo Ji

De Gua

Holladay, Celebrate!

2009-11-29T10:38:00.000-08:00

In this Minority Report I'd like to share with you some exciting times for Stan in China. And just so you know, I am aware of the spelling of the title of this entry... are you? I want to say thanks for all of the letters we have gotten from y’all! It’s been at least two a month! Other than being extremely encouraging to us, we have found a couple of other uses for these letters. First use... Our mail does not come directly to our apartment; it goes to the foreign affairs office. Then Vincent, the English-speaking foreign affairs guy will call & inform us of our mail. Vincent is surprised at the amount of mail we get. I get to tell him that we have lots of people that love us... he is impressed! Secondly, we are in the process of making our own Christmas tree and it is going to be awesome. The picture from the begining of this entry is going to be the first thing we put on our tree! We love it and I hope the person that drew it AND the lovely person that mailed it to us will find out about our plans for the picture! Third purpose, I have a student that collects stamps. When we get a letter we cut off the corner and give her the stamps. They are different from anything she has ever seen and so she loves them! (So when you send us letters, use unique stamps!) This girl’s English is pretty good and she volunteers for everything. We were involved in planning a Halloween party (Juliane, Rebecca) and she was so helpful. She and some of her friends were also some of the firsts to RSVP to an invitation we gave some of our classes to come to our home this Tuesday (12.1.09). And this leads me to part two of my report on exciting times in China.

Since we have just recently begun to feel Complete! here we are ready to start entertaining. Last week we made announcements in some of our classes. We invited them to our house for extra English practice. Our friends Kyle & Rebecca Hooper are coming over to meet our students and play with us. We are going to try to challenge them in ways they might not have been challenged before. Because we are not in a classroom setting, we have the freedom to teach from any book and not have to stick to what the school gave us to teach from.

We have not decided exactly what we are going to do but we think we might have a listening activity from another book and then talk about it. I feel like the students that will come to our home have pretty good English and will be excited to take things to a deeper level. I hope that they will value what we have prepared for them. Please think (Reminder about 'think' read the P.s.) about us , the Hoopers, the listening activity, and the 20 to 25 students who have said that they will come. If you have story suggestions I’d love to hear them!

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all.

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Complete!

2009-11-29T09:35:00.000-08:00

You know that feeling when you’ve got to finish something you started but other things continue to get in the way... other things such as your job or 'honey do' lists or... every part of life that is not what you’d rather be doing. For the last couple of months we have been in the process of making our apartment a home. We have moved things around multiple times... many, many times. We have moved things around so many times that I made this...

Making this ‘to scale’ drawing with moving pieces has made our lives a little easier. Even with having little pieces of paper to move around instead of the furniture we have struggled in finding a setup that we really like... until now! It’s finally exactly how we think we want it, the most convenient, and the most spacious! I’m glad that our room is finally complete. We have also just begun to cook. It takes quite a long time to stock up on basic items and only being able to bring home from the store what you can carry in a bag makes the process slow... Not to mention the ease or lack thereof of finding the products that you need when everything is in Chinese (Grocery Shopping in China is a report for another day). It is a good feeling to finally be able to cook in the house if we’d like without having to go out and buy everything we need for the meal. With the ability to cook comes the ability to entertain guests. Our first attempt was a Taco Night. Someone else probably would have done Taco Night sooner but the only rule was, there has to be sour cream. It was hard to find but we found it!

It was a grand success and once again helping us feel, complete. Other conveniences that we have just recently added are...

Easy access to the Deck

Ambient Lighting

This light switch was just hanging out of the wall and I glued it in place.

My new pen holder.

Some strategically placed hooks.

Our favorite new toothbrush holder.

Christmas lights! (There will be more on Christmas to come...

These lights made the cut because they probably won’t ever come down or go off.)

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all.

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

The Word of the Week: Huo Ji

2009-11-26T01:40:00.000-08:00

Could it be anything other than Huo Ji? I mean really what would this week be without Huo Ji? Here in China I will not have Huo Ji till Saturday. I wonder the percentage of people who will eat Huo Ji or... Ham. Lets not get into ham as it is not the word of the week now is it. I thought I had done so well by recording myself saying last weeks word, but I have learned that I didn’t say it right. Sorry everyone, I guess you shouldn’t rely on The Minority Report to learn Chinese. This week is different, however, because I got one of my students to say it.

Happy Thanksgiving, don’t forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all.

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

P.S. Here's a little sneak peak of our Huo Ji... there will be more to come.

Sit Somewhere

2009-11-25T07:14:00.000-08:00

I thought we knew our apartment. I even thought that we knew it well enough to show it to you. However, we missed something, something that’s kind of a big deal... the deck. The Minority Reports to you today a portion of the Something, Someone, Somewhere series called Sit Somewhere. How do you live in an apartment for almost three whole months & not know it has a deck... ridiculous!

Here is the door... obviously

And then this is were I sit.

From 3 pm till sundown I played Christmas music and waved at folks and I took lots of pictures.

If I had a friend over they could sit here.

But be careful... we are 5 stories up, ya know.

The AC unit makes an excellent foot stool.

The sunset is very pleasant, even through the haze.

To see more, including a progression of the sunset, a panoramic view of campus from where I was sitting, & some other creative shots, check out my Picasa web album.

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all.

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Guess That Product

2009-11-23T05:23:00.000-08:00

Whether it’s groceries or electronics, from milk to batteries, shopping in China is not always easy. If we’re going somewhere with intentions of buying something, this is the ‘game’ we windup playing. It's not always the most fun game to play, but at least it's interesting. So, now it’s your turn to 'Guess That Product'. Below are things you might recognize and some things you might not. Let’s see how well you do... Good luck and enjoy.

I'll start you off with an easy one.

This product is difficult to capture... It's white powder.

That's all for now. Did you guess them all right? If you did then you get a one hundred 'A' plus. Post your answers if you'd like. The first one to guess every product wins a prize!

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all.

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Create Something

2009-11-22T07:02:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning I woke up early from a dream I was having... There was a group of us. We were at an Opry Land kind of park. As we were walking around we stopped to decide where we were going next. Behind us, a barbershop quartet began to sing an advertisement for their upcoming show. We turned to see what the show was about. There, on a small stage in front of a fake rocky cave, were four guys in white pants, red & white striped shirts, and matching hats. They were named, Ricky Rice & The Rubble. They were all quite lanky. Apparently their gig was that they were barbershop contortionists. The main character’s name was Ricky Rice. They would position themselves very tightly into the crevices of the fake cave and they had a piece of rice that they would pass from person to person to prove... something about how amazing this feat was. All of this happened while singing barbershop. We did not stay for the show because I woke up after they were done singing their advertisement unfortunately. I was thinking about that little jingle after I woke up and thinking about how I like barbershop. Then I realized that I remembered most of the words to a song that I made up in my dream and I thought, “I’ll Create Something!” So I recorded all of the parts of the jingle on my computer. This is not much of a Minority Report, but it’s part of a bigger picture (Something, Someone, Somewhere) so I’m sharing it with you. Side note... the Ricky Rice & The Rubble quartet sounded way better in my dream than what you are fixin’ to hear.

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all.

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

You Vote

2009-11-21T06:40:00.001-08:00

Today’s minority report will revolve around one central topic. Warning, this entry is way too long! Think of it as four short entries, all posted at the same time. I've thought of a couple of titles for this entry and I like them equally, so I decided that I would put it to a vote. (The vote serves more than one purpose. In order to cast a vote, one would have to make a comment, making a comment means that one would have to have read The Minority Report, reading The Minority Report boost the writers confidence in knowing that his efforts to inform the reader are not completely in vain.)

I’ve Been Here 83 Days Already & I Still Can’t Speak Chinese!

To say the least, this amazing language is complicated. I teach, but I frequently find myself in the role of student. My students are constantly teaching me language & culture. The other day they were helping me with a Chinese word... (In order to understand my point you must know something about Chinese. Ready for your lesson?) In English, the tone of a word sometimes conveys meaning. For example, “Is there any Dr. Pepper in China?” “No, there is no Dr. Pepper in China!” The word China probably has a different tone in the question than it did in the answer. There are several tones one might put on the word China in different circumstances. Regardless of the tone, one should have no difficulty understanding the place in question. This is where ‘we foreigners’ get into trouble with Chinese. In Chinese there are four tones. Each tone gives meaning and definition to the word it is attached to. One word can be said with different tones & have completely different meanings... kinda like homographs. (Are you smarter than a fourth grader?) Because tones are not as crucial to the definition of an English word, I never learned the skill of hearing Chinese tones. So, when I say a Chinese word EXACTLY HOW I HEAR IT (or think I heard it), but I use the wrong tone, the person I am trying to tell has ABSOLUTELY NO CLUE what I’m saying. One word with four tones is too confusing for me! One would think that a Chinese person (knowing that I’m a foreigner) would understand that I am going to mispronounce things a little & cut me some slack... nope. It’s possible that I’m saying the words completely wrong & they truly are indistinguishable. All I know is that Chinese is not easy & I look forward to the day when I can tell a taxi “Shuren Da-shue” & him not look at me funny & say, “ah?... Oh! Shuren dà xué, ok.”

Man, Ting Ba Dong, Man

I get some of the craziest looks when I say or... try to say one of the four words I ‘know’. One phrase I have almost mastered is pronounced, “Ting bo dong.” It means, “I don’t understand.” Ironic? I’m so used to them not understanding that I’m trying to tell them that I don’t understand, that I have added my own twist to the phrase. “Man, ting bo dong man” is what I normally say... Juliane thinks it’s funny.

21:30 Is Three & A Half Hours From Midnight

Baby steps... Trying to learn Chinese can be quite overwhelming at times. Saying things in Chinese & seeing a face of recognition is VERY rewarding. These occurrences are very few & far between. They use mostly military time here in China. It has been a struggle for me to get used to. Until about a month ago I kept all of my time telling devices in 12-hour (Western) mode. I decided that I would learn/get used to ‘China time’. I have made observations of how I am getting used to ‘China time’. Humor me.

My first attempt at learning ‘China time’ resulted in lots of math... 16:34 minus 12 is 4:34 PM. 4:34 PM means something to me, where 16:34 does not. The problem with this style of ‘learning’ is that I’m not really learning anything. When I continue to subtract 12 from everything after noon I cannot define or understand a time higher than noon. This style of ‘learning’ only left me burnt-out on subtraction & frustrated with my inability to quickly memorize and define past 12. Since I was unwilling to have patience with memorizing the equation, “X – 12 = a time that I have defined in my own culture to mean time for supper... or time to watch the news... or time to sleep... or time to (you fill in the blank)” I am trying a new style.

Trial number two revolves around me redefining what I know to fit an unfamiliar number on a clock. For example, 21:30 no longer means, Western time translation & recall definition, but now means that there is three & a half hours till midnight. Realizing 21:30 in this way has helped me redefine... translate 9:30 into something I can understand. Make sense?

My conclusion... I should use what I’ve observed about redefining time as a microcosm for learning Chinese. I’m going to have to stop trying to translate symbols to English & try to redefine the symbols that I know with words that I’ve yet to learn. Easy?... nope! More effective?... maybe, only time will tell.

Most importantly, below are the candidates for this entry’s title...

· ‘I’ve Been Here 83 Days Already & I Still Can’t Speak Chinese!’

· ‘One Word, Four Tones, Too Confusing’

· ‘Man, Ting Ba Dong, Man’

· ‘21:30 Is Three & A Half Hours From Midnight’

· ‘Warning!!! This Entry Is Too Long!’

· I like ‘You Vote’ the best

Vote if you’d like.

Thanks for reading,

don’t forget to think about

Stan in China, I love you all.

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Word of the Week: De Gua sp?

2009-11-17T18:34:00.000-08:00

Today I learned a new word and teaching it to you might help me remember it. The word is De Gua. I don’t know if that is how it’s spelled but the word sounds like this...

The word means potato... maybe sweet potato I’m not sure which. As I leave the building where I teach and cross the street to where I live, there is this little guy...
He rides around on his little bike cart selling the most delicious sweet De Guas around.

He cooks them in a barrel. The ones that are done are sitting on top and the ones that are cooking are sitting on a metal rack inside.

In the bottom of the barrel there are hot coals workin' their magic. He has only recently appeared with his little hot potatoes, since it has begun to get chili outside. I don’t think I would ever choose a sweet potato as a snack but they sure are tasty, not to mention welcoming to my cold hands. I never know what he's saying, but I think he is a funny little man... Juliane would suggest that he is cute. Here's a poor quality video from my phone of him talking...

You might have noticed that the color is different in a Chinese De Gua. I've been told that Chinese scientist built these potatoes in a lab. Now they are grown all over China. They have also made one that is purple inside. It is sweeter than the orange-ish ones. I couldn't find a purple one to take a picture of but when I do I'll post it and remind you why I did. This guy is not the only one selling De Guas on our street. Here's a clip of a woman...

Sometimes we can hear her on the street from our Fifth floor apartment. She reminds us of a lady in Henderson, that used to call for her cat from her back porch. I hope you have enjoyed The Minority Report today. Not a very meaty subject... (PUN!) If you ever decide to have a sweet potato (what's the Chinese word? ____________) That's right! If you ever decide to have a De Gua for a snack please let me know.But more importantly...

Thanks for reading, don't forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all.
- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Apple Juice is Apple Juice

2009-11-15T05:41:00.000-08:00

This morning I was pouring some apple juice and thinking about how so many Chinese products are different than American ones. From driving to restrooms to grocery shopping things are different, very different. As I finished pouring, my ADD kicked in and I got all excited about my 100% pure apple juice and forgot about the little “Things are different here” conversation I had just had with myself. I took a big swig and was completely surprised when it didn’t taste like apple juice... well not the apple juice that I know anyway. Then, remembering my thoughts previously I wondered, “Why was I surprised that this doesn’t taste the same?” Maybe it was the picture of a pretty red apple on the label or the number 100% that guaranteed my mind, that this was apple juice and apple juice is apple juice. There are so many things that I expect to be the same. I want them to taste the same, feel the same, work the same... but the truth is, it aint. Maybe it’s just me or maybe it’s the American ideology that says, “Our products and way of life are the best and that’s the way it should be!” That, my friends is the definition of being Ethnocentric. And maybe it’s true, maybe America is the best of the best, but being ethnocentric in a new culture WILL NOT help me adjust. It will take time for me to stop getting surprised by differences and stop looking for consistency when there are so few consistencies in the two cultures... China is on the other side of the world you know?! This has happened many times in the last week and I know that there will be many more occurrences to come. Let me be clear, I’m completely ok with the differences, where I struggle is gearing my mind to not be so ethnocentric. In the grand scheme of things apple juice is good but it’s not the same everywhere in the world and who cares! What is important is that people are people regardless of what side of the world you might be on. To realize and accept that China is a way of life where people live, love, and laugh just like they do in America is the goal. So if you get thirsty today and are feeling like some juice, pour yourself a glass, remember Stan in China and the people that you live, love, and laugh with, and remember... apple juice is apple juice.

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think

about Stan in China, I love you all.

- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com

Something, Someone, Somewhere

2009-11-13T11:28:00.000-08:00

As November takes its stride, the so-called ‘Honeymoon’ stage of living in China begins to fade. The shocks of unknown and exciting aspects of living in a Chinese culture seem to gradually disappear. Feelings of uncertainty and questions such as, “What am I doing here?” tend to creep around in one’s mind. As a ‘newbie’ to living in China, it has been explained to me that the things that I viewed as merely an inconvenience have the tendency to magnify into ‘I don’t like this anymore, when can I leave?’ when culture shock begins to set in. Having this attitude makes living here the opposite of the most exciting time of ones life. IT IS NATURAL however. Experiencing culture shock and living to tell about it has the potential to make one stronger. Kyle (one of the seven) explains culture shock as ‘Culture induced depression.’ From breaking down and yelling at an undeserving Chinese person in a public place to locking ones self in their ‘Chinese culture free’ apartment for three days, culture shock hits everyone differently. Let me be clear, I have not found myself in any extreme depression/culture shocked circumstances... yet. In an effort to decelerate this angry, negative, culture induced depression stage I have compiled a list. This check list will serve as a productive ‘something to do’ list when the temptation is to ‘not do.’ I have titled my list ‘Something, Someone, Somewhere.’

I have printed out this chart so I can fill it in as I accomplish these activities. I look forward to sharing with you my experiences. I also would like to encourage you to find something, someone, or somewhere to be more productive in your own life. When one stays busy with things out of their control they wish that they had more time for themselves or their family. On the flip side of that coin when one finds that they have too much free time, sometimes the trend is to forget the things they wished they had time for. Maybe this list can help you and your family to stray from the ever-so tempting routine of indecisiveness that frequently results in TV watching, nap taking, or some other nonproductive activity. It has helped me already. I would love to hear about someone enriching their own or someone else’s life in some way from this list. This list is not all-inclusive. If you think of a Something, Someone, or Somewhere that I should add please email me. My list may not suit your lifestyle at all but you can definitely compile your own list. If you participate in some way I would love to hear about it!

Thanks for reading, don’t forget to think
about Stan in China, I love you all.
- stan.mccorkle@gmail.com