Evening Cruise on the HaiHe River...

We have had the pleasure of knowing four great couples these past 10 months.  They have been here in Tianjin teaching English--two couples at Nankai University and two at Tianjin U.  Their example of living here with just what they brought in their suitcases (as opposed to our luxury of having household goods shipped over) has been inspiring.  You can get by with much less than what I used to think.

 They come from a diverse background--artists, teachers, dancers, coaches, etc., and yet they all love serving others.  They have been a tremendous help in our local congregation.

But now it is time for them to return to the U.S., to grandchildren and families.  Some have careers to return to, but most are retired.

We all got together in downtown Tianjin to cruise the river.

 It was just two months ago that we visited this same locality when Deborah came to visit, and I hardly recognized it.  The green trees of summer soften the concrete buildings, and the Chinese do a marvelous job with their landscape lighting.  Buildings that look drab and gray during the day really come alive at night!

 The "Eye of Tianjin" ferris wheel is built on a bridge, and we went right underneath it.  Again, the lighting really was fun.

 With each of the bridges--and there were several--it looked like we could jump just a few inches and touch the overhead beams.  But we didn't. After all, this is China, and you never know what might be considered an egregious error on the part of a foreigner.  I'm not saying it would a serious thing, just something more on the order of a faux pas.

 Wish my iPhone camera handled colors better.  The sculpture was scary/beautiful--like most gargoyle-type ornaments.  The entire down-town was beautiful.

 As we cruised along, we had a great view of the St. Regis Hotel.  Such a cube!  There are a number of architectural wonders in Tianjin and Beijing.

And then we realized it is hollow in the middle.


The cruise was a great way to celebrate our friendship and have a last fling.  We will miss the Ferrells, Borens, Suggs, and Johnsons.  And we look forward to the eight new people coming in August.  BYU only sends out the best, and we can't wait to meet them!

We recently had a tremor...

A couple of weeks ago, as I sat in my favorite chair, a lazy-boy rocker (one of the few pieces of furniture we had shipped here), suddenly I felt extra movement--like someone had brushed past the back of the chair.  But no one was there.

It took only a second or two to realize what was happening:

we were experiencing an earthquake!

I looked at another chair that had a throw hanging off the back, and the throw was

swaying back and forth.  It was kind of freaky.

It turned out to be a 4.7 or 4.8 tremor, centered about 100 miles from

here in a city called Tangshan.  In 1976, Tangshan was leveled by a severe quake

that killed 300,000 people.  I've referred to it before in this blog.

It wasn't long before a text arrived from Kevin:  "Did you feel that?"

At work, the whole building was evacuated and everyone stood in the hot sun for 45 minutes until

it was deemed safe to re-enter the building.  Same thing happened at the girls' school.

So it got me thinking.

Back in the states, I had taken CERT training (Community Emergency Response Team), along with

other members of our congregation, so that we could be of help in the event of disasters.

We were not trained as first responders, but as assistants for them (the fire fighters, police, EMTs, etc.)

We learned how to search damaged buildings.  How to offer medical assistance.

What things to have in our own kit.  And the number 1 priority:  Take care of your own family so they don't need the assistance of others (if possible).

So, what WOULD we do in the event of a major earthquake?

We live on the 3rd floor of an 8-story building.  The only exits are an elevator and an interior stairway.

Both of those would be dangerous.  And besides, they exit into a small parking area that has three high-rise apartment buildings (27 stories each).  I wouldn't want to be there if the earth is shaking things

down!  So the only other option would be to climb down off the patio.

 I went scouting around the outside, and found out it wouldn't be too bad.

The ground looks a long way down when looking down, 

but just like on the high dive at the swimming pool, 

it doesn't look very high when looking up!

 For right now, we have an extension cord that would be long enough

to get down a two floors, and then a short drop.

Or we could jump into the tree and hope for the best.  

Obviously, our escape planning is going to need a little work.

Why didn't we bring the escape ladder we had for our old attic bedrooms?

I know I will rest easier once I feel we are truly prepared.

(And I wish I'd shipped my CERT kit!)

In order to graduate from Tianjin International School

One of the pleasant surprises of this Chinese adventure has been the school the girls go to.  I know I've sung its praises before, but things keep coming up that remind me just how different it is from the public schools back home.  (And those were supposedly some of the more excellent ones.)

For one thing, the school is small--only about 125 in the high school, and that includes 9th grade, though it is growing.

For another, it takes a special person to decide to live in China in order to teach school.  The teachers have a strong commitment to excellence and each feel it is their "mission" to be here.  So

they are completely involved in the school--it's not just a job.  They care!  Back home, you would run into excellent teachers, but they weren't in the majority.

For a third thing, it has a strong Christian relationship, and they are unapologetically teaching for the whole soul, so values and standards are taught and supported.  Classes and activities begin with prayer.  When a student misbehaves, the counseling includes the need for repenting and changing,

but it's done with love and concern for the best outcome.  There are many students attending who are not Christian but attend because of strong academic standards.

Which brings me to the real reason for this post.  In order to graduate, each student puts together a portfolio of what they have learned in high school, and then they present a power-point to a panel of 5 teachers, finishing up with answering any questions the teachers may have.

Ellie was a bit at a disadvantage, coming in at her senior year, but she did a great job.

 I was glad I got to go and watch the hour-long experience.

 She did a great job of listening to the questions, coming to the core of what was being asked and answering it in a clear way.  She didn't look nervous at all, though afterwards, she

was really glad it was over.

And she passed!  Graduation will be this Thursday, 8 pm.