What was the date of my last blog? September 22! Please forgive me! I have a whole catalog of excuses, but I’ll skip that and just tell you what has been going on here in Lanzhou.

I have just sampled my second attempt at making pizza. It was a slight improvement over the first. To begin with, I had to buy an oven; that occurred around the end of October. (It’s an oversized toaster oven, an exotic appliance in a culture whose cuisine doesn’t include baked foods.) Then, there is the flour to contend with. The flour here interacts with other ingredients in very unpredictable ways, at least for this cook. Finally, there is the cheese challenge. There is cheese here, some domestic and some from New Zealand, obtainable at stores that cater to foreigners. But mozzarella? Forget it! So tonight’s pizza featured a light mild cheddar, which at least had the good grace to melt.

Not much time is dedicated to perfecting my Chinese pizza. Teaching, as I noted last time, takes up most of my time and energy. I teach three different courses to a total of eight classes. The textbooks are virtually useless: outdated, inaccurate and didactic. So I pull my material out of thin air every week, with considerable help from my old friend the internet. In mid October I gave midterm exams; marking those for my 350 students amounted to three weeks of pure drudgery. That fiasco helped me to appreciate the circumstances of all teachers in China, whose staggering class sizes and teaching loads make it impossible to individualize instruction or measure student progress except by objective tests. I gave my 200 second-year students a modified essay type exam that required the writing of three paragraphs on three separate topics. Reading them all was a chore, but I was borne along in the task by comic relief. There was this on the legend of King Arthur: "But Lancelot was keen on the king’s wife." And this on the colonization of North America: "In the beginning people believed the earth was square." Overall I was reassured that my students understand the course content and have the language to articulate it – things a multiple-choice test would not have revealed.

I spend a couple of evening hours every other week participating in English Corner, an informal gathering of students to practice speaking English. The kids are very committed to this process, and groups meet just about every weeknight, whether or not any foreign teachers are available. One problem our students grapple with is that they are learning English in an environment where only Chinese is spoken – even by most of their English teachers! It’s incredibly difficult for them to get any authentic speaking practice. I have also spent some time assisting the Red Ribbon Society, a student-led group that conducts HIV-AIDS awareness workshops on campus. I am constantly wowed by the dedication and initiative of the students. They have few resources, but don’t seem hampered in the least.

This past weekend the Amity teachers in Lanzhou – Ruth, Kendra, Rae and I – hosted a regional conference for all twelve Amity teachers in Gansu Province. Conference planning was our grand obsession for weeks. I’m pleased to relate that the meeting – much of which was held in my apartment! – was an unqualified success. We swapped teaching strategies, tales from the field, joys and woes. We worshiped together and reflected on our spiritual lives. And, of course, we found time for tons of shopping and great meals.

I am constantly composing blogs in my head that need to find their way to the keyboard. I want to tell you all about:
public buses in Lanzhou, esp. the 124. . .
pet dogs in the city . . .
the amazing contrasts everywhere between old and new . . .
Ruth’s and my quest for a church home here . . .

I’ll get to those, and more, as soon as I can. Please keep me in your prayers; you are all in mine.