(An excerpt from one of my journals for class about MMK.)

After working with and teaching the migrant kids this past week, I think I still do not have a full grasp of what their lives are like. The statistics tell us there are 20 million migrant children in China. And that many of these children lack in parental love and care since their parents are often working so the the family may survive. Most work on construction projects, while others work in peddling markets and household services. Their parents often have inferior educations, with one survey saying that 20% only have a junior high education, with 60% with less education than that. The average family income is 1000 yuan. Many of the migrant children face problems, including education, stigmatization, and poverty. The quality of the teachers are often sub-par. Only 60% of the teachers have a college education. And there is a high turn-over rate among both teachers and students, which affects learning. When migrant children are able to join regular public schools, they are often discriminated against, sometimes blatantly. And it also can lead to an identity crisis of not knowing whether or not they are classified as rural or urban.

After reading about all these statistics I was expecting the kids to be poverty stricken and in need of our attention. That was probably a very narcissistic and pessimistic viewpoint. I didn't think we could do anything that would have an impact within four days. I wasn't sure what the education level would be even though we were teaching fourth graders. I thought they would act out a lot and be hard to control. Yet the kids we taught mostly seemed so happy and joyful, even if they acted out sometimes. They were very rambunctious, just like any other child you would meet anywhere in the world. Whenever we came in the morning, they would loudly shout, “Lao shi lai le!” (The teachers are here). They loved playing games (especially Big Wind Blow), singing, and dancing. They were extremely bright students, quickly understanding how to play the games and the words and motions for the songs.

However, we discovered that when we taught them English, they could recite the words but many did not understand what we were teaching them. It was quite frustrating to realize we thought they were understanding what we were teaching, but when we broke up into smaller groups, many could not answer simple questions about what we had just learned. But since we were in smaller groups, we were able to work with them more individually and teach them. From these smaller groups, there were some encouraging moments.

One of those encouraging moments is my interaction with a student named Alan. He did not come to the first day, so we only had three days to get to know him. His English speaking skills was probably the best in our class. He was very shy about speaking English though, and shy in general. We were eventually able to draw him out and learn more about him. This was encouraging to me because hopefully he will continue to break out of his shell now that we have slowly gotten him to come out a little bit. Another student that was encouraging to me was Amy. Her English may have been the worst in the class, since she understood very little and often just copied what other students would say in response to our questions. She was also extremely shy and quiet. But near the end of the day, I helped translate something for her and responded with a quiet “thank you” in English. That showed me that even the little things can impact others.

So while many of the students were shy and sometimes we could not communicate well with them, and I did not expect to be able to do much in our short four days with them, it was an rewarding experience. And I was able to learn more about the migrant floating population from the children perspective. That while they may have less, they still have joy. I wish I had been able to tell them about the greatest joy that can be found through the gospel. Especially since the studies on the migrant population show that the children receive less attention from their parents and teachers than other kids. So I wish that I could have told them about the Father they have who is always with them and always protects. I hope that since I am here for one more month I will be able to meet up with them since we gave them our contact information and they have already contacted some of us.

(This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but for some reason it didn't post.)

After our first day at the migrant school, I think what stuck out to me the most is that at their core, the migrant kids are just that, kids. The boys and girls don't like associating and split apart when allowed. They love playing games, whether American games or Chinese games. They are definitely very, very loud. The boys like to fight with one another, while the girls ten to congregate and talk with one another. They are all really creative, with their drawings and stories they tell. They are also very curious. I brought out my laptop to show some pictures, and they wanted to look at it and play with it. And one of the girls really likes to take one of my teammate's camera and take pictures of us and their fellow students. The kids are also very energetic and competitive. We were playing "Big Wind Blow" and a few times I was afraid someone would get hurt. But thankfully no one did. However, they were very shy in speaking English to the whole class. It will be interesting to see if they are more willing to speak in front of everyone by the end of the week. Another thing I noticed was that when the food came, the boys rushed the food while the girls waited for the boys to finish getting it. Which is actually something that stuck out to me. Is that because the boys were just more hungry, or is it a culture thing of boys coming first? I'm not sure, but I hope this week will help me answer this question and other questions I have.

Here are some pictures from the first day...

This first week in Shanghai has been crazy hectic. We have had classes every day in the morning and afternoon, 2 1/2 hr session each. It's been a lot if information, both old and new. The professors have all had different things to teach us, varying from China's urban and rural history to economics. The class is officially called "China and World Affairs: International Relations and Economics". I like how the professors give us differing perspectives than what we would get in America, especially since I've taken classes on both Chinese history and economics in UCSD. I have enjoyed getting to know my fellow classmates. We've spent a lot of our time together, so we've quickly become friends, making fun of each other and finding out each other's quirks. We have gone shopping together, touring around Shanghai, and eaten together alot.

This past Friday, we visisted the migrant school we will be teaching at this coming week. It was interesting to walk around the neighborhood and see how the children live. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was eyeopening. For me, it was definitely easy to see the community they have built around the school. They had food shops, barbers, clothing shops, tea shops, game places, and other stores. It seemed like everyone knew each other. It was also evident that they helped take care of each others' children and looked out for one another. I am excited to work with the kids this week to learn more about them. I also hope to be intentional with them and show them how great the Father's love is. Especially because many of these children's parents work long hours and often are not be able to care for their childrens as much.

I've been learning alot here in Shanghai, not just academics, but also about the Chinese culture and my place in it as as Chinese-American Christian. I hope to learn more in the coming weeks, to be stretched and grown while I am here. We've been attending SCF, which is a different experience for me. But it's really cool to see all these different nationalities come together to praise the Father. And being able to meet with the associates has shown me more and more how He is working here and how I may serve in the future. So PTL for all these opportunities.

On Saturday, I arrived at my hotel in Shanghai that I will be staying at for the next 2 months. It is a five minute walk from Fudan University, but with the heat and humidity, it seems like a much longer trip. In my study abroad program, there are ten girls and two guys, from all around the US (Maryland, Texas (one from Sugarland!), Georgia, North Carolina, California). Two other girls from CA actually go to UCSD. And one of them actually goes to the same fellowship as my aptmates, but we never met before. It's been interesting getting to know them better. We've also met the people in the cultural exchange program PESI holds at Fudan as well (including Charissa Ginn!) since they are staying at the same hotel we are.

It's been a pretty hectic few days since I've been here.These past few days has basically been orientation, eating, and touristy things. The food here is really good, and the portions are big, and it's very cheap. Our hotel is right next to a hot pot place, and we've been there three times already. Since yesterday was Sunday, we went to church at Shanghai Christian Fellowship. It's held in an old church that looks like a cathedral. According to our program director, it's been there for around 90 years I think. It was an interesting experience, since it is an international church and only people with foreign passports can attend the English service. So there were people of all nationalities there. The service was similar to any service back home, but the speaker was very different than what I am used to. Afterwards, we had dinner with some professionals associated with PESI (including Matt Chin), who told us about how they found themselves in China and how the Father is using them here. After that, we went to the Jin Mao Tower, which you can go up to the top and they have a really nice view of all of Shanghai. On our way back, my taxi got a little lost, but it was a fun bonding experience for my classmates and I.

Since I am still a little jet lagged, I've been waking up pretty early. But it's a blessing, because I've been able to spend time in the Word and see what it has to teach me. I know these next two months may be hard and tiring, but it reminds me that no matter what, my Father always protects me, is always there, and should always be praised. During orientation, our program director also asked us what our goals for this trip are. My goals were to determine whether doing business abroad in China would be something I desired, to grow closer to the Father and being open to other ways of praising Him, and to be intentional with those I meet.

I think that's it for now. I will be uploading pictures soon (or when I get unlazy and do it). I would appreciate it if you would yarp for me as I am here. Some things are health (I tend to get sick when I travel, and I already have six bug bites), safety, relationships with those I meet, and that I would be able to meet my goals. And if I can lift you up in any way, please tell me!