Get Outta Town! (Oct. 2017)

Nov 14

Nov 14 Get Outta Town! (Oct. 2017)

Brigg and Janet

So what do you do when 1.3 billion people have the same break from work and school? That was our dilemma during National Week (1st week in October). Actually, it wasn't much of a dilemma at all -- we got outta there!! On Friday, Sept. 29, we flew to Shanghai, where we spent the night before boarding a cruise ship to Japan. We stayed at Les Suites Orient (first picture), and at the risk of sounding tacky, I gotta tell ya -- we sure enjoyed the bathroom facilities (no squatters at this hotel!) A few months in China can cause a person to forget how luxurious a REAL potty experience (with a heated seat and multi-function bidet) can be!

Taking full advantage of our accommodations on the Bund, we strolled around, took a ferry across the river, found some dinner, and lazily watched the afternoon slip into evening as we absorbed the sights around us, including a couple of wedding photo shoots.

On Saturday, Sept. 30, we boarded the largest cruise ship I've ever been on (Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas) and RELAXED for a few days (checked three books off my "bucket" reading list!) Ahhhhhhhhh . . . . . So nice . . . . . . . .

We did take a break from all that relaxing, hopping off the ship a couple of times at Kumamoto and Miyazaki on Kyushu, Japan's southernmost island -- climbed Mt. Sengen and sailed through the Amakusa Islands, wandered through the Obi Castle and the former residence of a high-ranking samurai, and braved the slippery mountain trail to the Udo shrine -- and as we often note here in Beijing, we are THANKFUL for legs that walk and climb and bike and keep on workin'. We trudged through rainy weather (which, unfortunately, "misted up" many of the gorgeous views and clouded the photo backgrounds) but had SUCH a good time! I do enjoy spending time with that hubby of mine!!

As long as I've already broached the "potty" subject in this post, it wouldn't hurt to point out that apparently the Japanese, like the Chinese, feel the need to properly educate tourists on "squatter" etiquette:

And a final quick story: As we jostled along in our overcrowded tram at the Shanghai airport, heading WAY out on the tarmac to board our China Eastern flight, I noticed that all the children were beginning to squeal and point. Sure enough, the Disney-themed plane was ours!! A perfect ending to a perfect holiday!

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!