Next stop: Beijing!

February 5, 2009
Orem, Utah. Outside Temperature, 37 Degrees.
Hard to believe, but in just five days, we’ll be leaving from what has become our beloved home in Mountain Rose estates (funny about the name – as we were driving in, I looked at all the units in our little enclave, which are virtually identical, looked up at the snow covered mountain looming so nearby and thought “we live in Mountain Rows.” –much more modest, I think). A new adventure awaits us on a small campus near the heart of Beijing. Deep down, I know everything will work out fine, but there is still anxiety at the conscious level – will our offering be enough?
We know we will be teaching relatively young college students, sophomores and maybe juniors, and likely will tutor three or four younger students whose parents are affiliated with the school. We’re pretty sure that course content will not be too different than that which we experienced in Xi’an for two years. But we are also aware we will respond to whatevere the University calls on us to do, even if it is beyond the range of our expectations.
We’re told the living arrangements are quite adequate, with shopping and classrooms quite nearby, and the center of Beijing only a few blocks from our campus.
Watching the weather, we are aware that Beijing is recovering from winter faster than is Utah Valley. This has the benefit of allowing the removal of some “winter wear” from our suitcases, which are presently at or beyond weight limits.
There is a well-known invocation of goodbye used by many speakers in China: roughly translated as “I’m O.K., You’re O.K. We’re all O.K.!
Well let you know more when we get there.
Enjoy!