It’s been a little over a month since we’ve been here, and we’ve hit the ground running. From being first year teachers, to moving into an apartment for the first time together, to living in a new and different country… you could say that we’ve been a little busy lately. Add joining the youth group, coaching tennis (Steve), and attending formal Chinese dinners with interesting cultural events (Em) to that list, and we’ve got ourselves a smorgasboard of tantalizing treats to consume our time and interests. We are busy, and WE LOVE IT!!!
Shanghai is truly an amazing place to live right now. It is a blend of ancient Chinese culture and modern city life. We are amazed at how comfortable life really is here (other than the language barrier, that is pretty tough). We are constantly discovering new things about the city, and bit by bit we are familiarizing ourselves with the landscape. We still haven’t been to half the city, but in a city with over 16 million people, you can’t really blame us. It’s big.
Shanghai is truly an amazing place to live right now. It is a blend of ancient Chinese culture and modern city life. We are amazed at how comfortable life really is here (other than the language barrier, that is pretty tough). We are constantly discovering new things about the city, and bit by bit we are familiarizing ourselves with the landscape. We still haven’t been to half the city, but in a city with over 16 million people, you can’t really blame us. It’s big.
Our new neighborhood :)
Steve and I agree that the best part about living here is the community. We were blown away to fly to China and find one of the biggest communities of believers we have ever been a part of. It’s amazing what the King is doing here. Our school employs a large number of believers, and since most of us live in the company housing right across the street, we are constantly being encased in a nice little bubble of believers. One of the pastors who lives in this community told us that on any given night of the week, about 30 fellowships are meeting. It’s incredible to be surrounded by this! Who would have thought we would find this in China!?!?!
Because we are in such a blessed situation, Steve and I are giving back by joining the youth group, which has around 120 kids. We are each leading small groups for the 9th grade, which gives us a break from our wee little students. It’s really fun, enriching, and gives us an outlet for us to use our Kidder skills :) Next Friday night both of our groups will be meeting in our apartment….now that’s going to be an adventure!!!
Because we are in such a blessed situation, Steve and I are giving back by joining the youth group, which has around 120 kids. We are each leading small groups for the 9th grade, which gives us a break from our wee little students. It’s really fun, enriching, and gives us an outlet for us to use our Kidder skills :) Next Friday night both of our groups will be meeting in our apartment….now that’s going to be an adventure!!!
Speaking of the apartment, we LOVE it! It’s our first time “playing house” in real life, and we have had a steep learning curve. Luckily, Steve’s parents are a quick phone call away, and have been helpful in answering our naïve questions about things like how to clean a wood floor, or how to install a router.
I made dinner for the first time in our apartment this week (not to mention the first official time since being married, should I really admit that?). Thursday night was a very empowering night in the Limkecouple household. I bought beautiful, fresh, cheap veggies at the wet market after work, successfully stir-fried them, and served them with rice. It was a delicious success! Especially considering the fact that we can eat out here for cheaper than we can cook at home (not much incentive to cook, eh?).
Since you probably don’t know, the wet market is where we can buy the locally sold fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish (although we don’t buy the latter two). I did get splattered by a fish while I was there though, as the woman who was selling them decided one needed to be slammed on the ground over and over by my feet as I was picking out tomatoes. We bring our own bags to shop here, but other than that, it’s definitely not the same as poppin in to Trader Joe’s :)
I made dinner for the first time in our apartment this week (not to mention the first official time since being married, should I really admit that?). Thursday night was a very empowering night in the Limkecouple household. I bought beautiful, fresh, cheap veggies at the wet market after work, successfully stir-fried them, and served them with rice. It was a delicious success! Especially considering the fact that we can eat out here for cheaper than we can cook at home (not much incentive to cook, eh?).
Since you probably don’t know, the wet market is where we can buy the locally sold fruit, vegetables, meat, and fish (although we don’t buy the latter two). I did get splattered by a fish while I was there though, as the woman who was selling them decided one needed to be slammed on the ground over and over by my feet as I was picking out tomatoes. We bring our own bags to shop here, but other than that, it’s definitely not the same as poppin in to Trader Joe’s :)
Teaching has been really fun so far. I still can’t believe how cute my kids are. I’m teaching English to 4 and 5 year-olds, and I already have a much greater appreciation for my parents :) I’m basically getting a crash course in parenting skills and it is definitely an exhausting job! I love it so far though, and I think the greatest challenge for me is to hold back my laughter whenever my students do something cute that is against the rules.
Here is a picture of one my students to give you an idea of what I have to put up with, haha.
Steve is loving teaching 4th grade Social Studies, and man do his students love him too!!! He loves how eager to learn his students are, and how he can see their minds expanding with knowledge (he also loves how easy it is to make them laugh :). He comes home everyday with funny quotes of things his students have said. We’ve started keeping a log of them.
Here’s a few:
- “Did you know that without girls, boys wouldn’t even exist? We are like MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE!!”
- (running in from recess and jumping up and down) “We want to know more ABOUT YOU!!!!”
- “This is the fist time Social Studies has ever been fun!”
- “You’re the best teacher to get Smiley’s from.”
Needless to say, Steve is enjoying his job.
- “Did you know that without girls, boys wouldn’t even exist? We are like MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE!!”
- (running in from recess and jumping up and down) “We want to know more ABOUT YOU!!!!”
- “This is the fist time Social Studies has ever been fun!”
- “You’re the best teacher to get Smiley’s from.”
Needless to say, Steve is enjoying his job.
Our new favorite drink! Pearl Milk Tea :)
Well, we are living, and learning, and learning how to live here in the Paris of the East. There is so much more to tell, so it’s good that we have a lot more time to tell it. We are happy, and plugged into a great community. It’s amazing how we have been experiencing so much of His faithfulness through our daily need to rely on Him. It’s so good :)