And . . . We're Back! (September 2018)

Apr 4

Apr 4 And . . . We're Back! (September 2018)

Brigg and Janet

After a whirlwind of a summer (Southern California, Northern California, Arizona, Idaho, Utah, and Alaska!) it’s hard to believe, but here we are again . . . beginning our third year in China! What fun to return with the Forsyths and meet our new CTP colleagues, the Bergstroms. We continued our adventure by exploring some new sites in Beijing and acquainting the Bergstroms with some local culture.

The Baiyun Temple (White Cloud Temple or Monastery of the White Clouds) is an active Taoist temple and monastery, one of the “Three Great Ancestral Courts” of the Quanzhen School of Taoism. We spent one beautiful late-summer day there before becoming too consumed with our university duties. Our success this year was ensured early as we each took a turn tossing coins to ring the bell.

Look what we stumbled upon in an obscure courtyard! I’m glad we had done some research ahead of time so that we could take full advantage of our “moment” with the statue of Te (apparently Brigg had been experiencing some lower back problems??)

A quick addendum: Brigg claims he patted the top of his head and then the statue’s mane between its ears, and . . . . . . . well . . . . .

A couple of weeks later, I joined some friends (Brigg took a pass) on a quest to find the Five-Pagoda Temple, where we heard that the autumn gingko trees were a “must-see.” To our surprise, the temple was located along the canal running through the Beijing Zoo, right across from a zoo entrance that we had never used. On the grounds of this Five-Pagoda Temple, there is also a “stone museum” filled with artifacts rescued from sites all around the area. Of particular interest to me were the tombstones of several early Christian missionaries to China. Beautiful early-autumn day!

When we first arrived in Beijing, my CTP colleague and mentor Marilyn Hadd pointed out the charm of the brooms and mops lying everywhere — one of the stamps of China and an enchanting “Welcome Back!”

We’re Back!!

I can’t believe it, but at the invitation of PKU and with the encouragement of BYU, we returned to Beijing for the 2018-2019 teaching year.

Brigg continues to teach some of the most popular classes on campus — this, at least, according to many of my students who are hooked into PKU social media during registration time. It seems that there is continuous chatter about how to get into one of Mr. Steele’s Business English classes. The students have an allotment of “points” they can use to “bid” for priority in registration, and many students report using ALL of their points just to get into one of Brigg’s classes! He teaches these Business English classes on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and again on Wednesdays at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

I continue to teach four sections of Critical Thinking/Academic Writing — Tuesdays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and again on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Both Brigg and I teach a section of Oral English for English Majors on Tuesday mornings at 8 a.m. We enjoy teaching the same course, although in different buildings, and have even switched things up on occasion, sharing our “expertise” with each other’s classes.

We were asked this year if we would teach an additional children’s oral English class, available only to those affiliated with PKU. We were told that this was a request from parents who wanted to enroll their children, but only if we were going to be the teachers. I know! Flattering! How could we refuse?? So we’re teaching the same Grade 2 class we taught last year (with a few new faces) on Wednesday evenings, but we’re also teaching a group of “beginners” (mostly 6-year-olds) on Monday evenings. We’ve had a lot of fun sharing American culture with them, including the carving of Halloween jack-o-lanterns in October and the decorating of various holiday-themed treats.

I continue to tutor my 9-year-old Thomas as well, sometimes twice a week. He loves to come to our apartment even when not having a formal lesson just to play games or read stories. Brigg has to hide his treats, though, because Thomas eats EVERYTHING he can find!

We love our continuing relationships with our former students and friends, especially our BYU China Teacher colleagues, who are our “family” while we’re so far from home!