Thursday 2:00 Class

All five of my Freshman Conversation classes have 40 students in them... this one meets Thursday afternoons at 2:00. Majors range from Automation to Computer Science to Electrical/Mechanical/Industrial/Optical/Communication/Software Engineering. Their favorite sports are badminton and basketball, with the ladies favoring the former and gents, the latter.

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Grace and I celebrate our 16th monthiversary today... I mentioned in an earlier post how guilty we've been feeling about having all the fun we're having "out east"... we'll be celebrating this occasion by teaching a full load of classes and hosting the first of our monthly Friday night socials along with 8 of our Beijing colleagues (pictured). "Coffee House" is a chance to spend a little time with 80 or so of our students in a less-formal setting... probably not the way we imagined celebrating special occasions 16 months ago, but fun nonetheless!

Connecting More Dots

Hwa Mok "Mark" Kim is a 2010 graduate of NCA (the school where I served as Director 1996-2005); he and Tim were soccer teammates! His parents moved to Nicaragua from South Korea, built a community center and church in a crime-ridden sector of Ciudad Sandino that continues to be a beacon of hope for those who live there. Tim was his little brother Hwa Rang's reading buddy in 2004 (the latter graduates from NCA in 2014)... Hard to convey what a blessing it was for Grace and me to spend our Sunday in Beijing with this young man... In the words of the 'beloved disciple': "I have no greater joy..."

International Trade and Economics

This is the delightful group I am privileged to teach in the 4:00-6:00 slot Friday afternoons... unlike my other four Freshman Conversational English classes, the students in this one do not have a variety of majors... "International Trade and Economics" is the unanimous pursuit of this bunch! (left-clicking on the picture should enlarge it ;-)

Dinner with a Colleague

Got to have dinner at the home of Ya Ping (a Chinese English Department colleague and sister) and her precious daughter "Missy"... curry chicken, rice, fresh fruit... Delicious meal; tremendous fellowship!

Office Hours

These students (and two others who had to leave before the photo) came by during my office hours to practice their English... half of them are students of mine, the rest have Grace or another member of ELIC team. Their English names are L2R (Yr., major): Draco (Jr., Accounting); GK; June (So., English); Michael (Fr., Electrical Engineering); Maria (So., Optical Electronics); Ben (So., Math); Kim (Fr., Software Engineering); Michael (Fr., Software Engineering); Ted (Fr., Computer Science); Harry (Fr., Computer Science); Amber (So., English)... it was a terrific two-and-a-half hours!

October Holidays in Shanghai

Grace and I have been feeling a wee bit guilty about all the fun we've been having... our crazy teaching schedule has been front-loaded with vacation/prep time... that all ends tomorrow! Perhaps we'll feel a little less guilty when we are teaching on Thanksgiving Day and through the Christmas Holidays ;-)