Crazy Dragon China Spider!

Today the head teacher was gone, so at the last minute I was asked to
take over her class. I had prepared... nothing, and didn't know their
class routine. Well... the day turned out to be rad. It all started as I
walked to school and saw a HUMONGOUS spider wrapping up a bee that had
got caught in it's web. So, I went to class (it was supposed to be
math time), told them what I saw, found a good container, and we all
went out and caught it!During lunch I went online and printed out a
bunch of pictures of different spiders, and then for science time, we
compared and contrasted the different spiders, learned their body parts, etc. We even named our little guy- Xiaohua (I think it means "Little ____" something). They were so excited about it all day, and were so
well-behaved because of that, I think. I've been encouraging the teachers to give the kids real-life experiences as much as possible (so much lecturing, very little hands-on or experiential learning taking place), so this was a fun opportunity to model that.

My first love in China

When a new visitor first steps foot in the PHF Foster Home’s “Inn,” most likely the first thing to catch their eye is the smiling, vibrant boy sitting on a stool yelling out “Hallo! What is yo namuh?” Confident, quick-witted, and even a little bossy, Grady was the first to capture my heart here in China.

I was surprised when this fully self-assured boy stood up from his chair- he was much shorter than I had expected. Grady has severe scoliosis, causing his back to curve any which way, and braces on his legs. But don’t worry, with a crutch on each arm, he can keep up with any able-bodied kid. I was also surprised to find that he has been here at PHF only a few months. Before that he lived on the streets begging, until, perhaps too burdened by living such a difficult life with a child who struggles to keep up, he was abandoned by his family.Two memories of Grady that will stick in my mind.


1. The day we got a new badminton set. Out on the playground, Grady motioned for me to be his partner. Unable to both play the game, and support his weight with his arms, he plunked down in the sand and hit it to me. We continued back and forth, rarely hitting it more than once because he could never run for the badminton ball-thing when I hit it to him, nor gain enough body motion to hit it more than a few feet (okay, and the other two-thirds was my lack of skills). Despite the wind blowing sand in his eyes because he was so close to the ground, and minimal success, he kept right on playing. Will Grady let his disadvantage make him miss out on life? Never.




2. One day I was walking passed Grady’s perching point in the Inn, and he motioned me over to him and pulled out a mixture of sunflower and other edible seeds and gave them to me. Later I found out that the Primary School teacher had taken the oldest kids earlier that day to the little shop around the corner to learn about using money and such. Each of the kids were given 10 yuan (about $1.35 USD) to spend on whatever they wanted. [Now know this- these kids really have nothing that is their very own- toys, books, play equipment is shared with all ] Grady, along with most of the other kids, had spent his ten yuan- perhaps the first in his life- to purchase things that could be given away to nannies and friends.

Pretty understandable how I fell for him so fast, eh?

National Children's Day!

We celebrate Mother’s Day. Then comes Father’s Day. And there’s also Secretaries Day, Veterans’ Day, Columbus Day, and even Mule Day, Hermit Day, and Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day (January 12, if you didn’t know).
As a bright little youngster, I realized that I fit into none of these categories. So one day I remember asking my mom, “Why is there no ‘Kid’s Day?’” Her wise response- “Every day is Kid’s Day.” That was definitely true in my home- thanks, mom. However, today, June 1st, is China’s National Children’s Day. The moment I heard about this celebration, I thought to myself “Aha! Now I understand how I’ve found my way to China. We think alike, the Chinese and I” (as if no child has ever asked their parents the same question… but I’d like to think it was original). However, in a little internet search, I actually found that in 2001, President Bush wrote a proclamation declaring the first Sunday in June as “National Child’s Day” as well. So kids, (there is no age restrictions attached) I hope you get ahold of this blog in time to live it up!

So, let me share some highlights from our Children’s Day Celebration here at PHF, and then highlight some cool parts of the proclamation.

We actually celebrated this last Friday. They sure know how to have fun here at PHF! The staff was busy making preparations all week for it. So, after lunch and naps, the kids got to skip the last two hours of school, and enjoy a sort of carnival-type afternoon. Face-painting, crafts, water-balloons and squirt guns, candy, music, a big blow-up moon-bounce toy thing, and McDonald’s for dinner! The kids were loving their lives. But really, they love even the simplest of things- so this was like joy to the max.

Though only an hour from Beijing, I live in a more isolated part of China- about twenty minutes outside of a "town" called Langfang (and yes, a "town" of over a million!). The PHF campus is nestled in the middle of fields, tree groves, and little traditional neighborhoods. Recently, I had one guy in Beijing ask me "What in the world do you DO in Langfang for fun- there’s nothing out there?" Well, through this blog I hope to introduce you to some of the treasures of Langfang- and why I’m having the time of my life here. It is these beautiful, creative, resilient children I live and work among.

Besides being a fun day for kids, I think that the celebration of Children’s Day across the world has a much deeper purpose. As expounded upon in the above-mentioned proclamation, it is to remind us adults of our duties to the world’s “most precious resource, our children.” It also states that “Every youngster deserves to live in a safe, permanent, and caring family…” Though government cannot make people love eachother, it can “cultivate a climate that helps families, as well as the individuals and groups that support them.” The document mentions the current crisis of single-parent homes, and the need to “promote responsible fatherhood, in all its aspects, including spiritual leadership, emotional security, and financial support” (sound familiar? See The Family: A Proclamation to the World). Oh, that these dear children whom I have so quickly grown to love, could have these basic and essential elements of a real home! It continues “We must also help families in crisis, protect children from abuse and neglect, and encourage adoption…” This is where I put in a plug for any of you considering the prospect of adoption. I was able to witness the first meeting of an adoptive family and little Sadie this week, and it is truly a marvelous and life-changing event for all parties involved.

The document concludes “Every child… has unique gifts to offer. We must nurture our children’s dreams, help them develop their talents and abilities, and ensure their healthy development so that they may reach their full potential. Our success in this vital endeavor will affect the direction of their lives and the future strength and vitality of our Nation.” No matter what our relation is to children- whether parent, sibling, aunt, uncle, or the neighborhood “candy-grandma” (which my mother has become on Cherry Circle), we all can take this day to think of our influence on those little guys in our lives, and evaluate how we are doing in this most important role.

Happy Kid’s Day!

(And sorry, for some reason I can only post one picture for the time... I've got plenty more to show, so I'll work on fixing that!)