pictures

The CNU library from our window... if you can see it through all the smog.

View out of our window. Smog is back!!!!

Room! My side is the one with all the stuff - but my roommate hasn't moved in yet. Our beds have mattresses (unlike China Care!) but they are alot harder than we are used to at home. So far it hasn't bothered me too much, but after 3 months anything can happen.


Looks like a hotel room.



So these may be my last pictures for awhile... My camera has little power left, and I left my

converter at China Care with some other stuff (oops), and I don't know when I will be able to get back there (unfortunately!) Hopefully soon.

more beijing

Well I arrived safely and am now moved into my dorm room. Its pretty nice, though the shower is kind of yucky - but at least there is hot water!
I just finished taking the Chinese placement test. Needless to say, it was hard.
We took a tour this morning of the area around the campus. Its pretty normal for Beijing - not pretty, lots of Chinese people, traffic, and lots of potted flowers for the Olympics.
Internet is apparently pretty slow in this dorm, which I can attest to. It also wants me to put in my username and password a billion times before it decides to let me log on. We have to pay for internet access. I paid 120 kuai (5 dollars or so) for 30 days. Though I didn't bring an ethernet cord so now I have to adventure out and buy one.
Tomorrow is more orientation, and tomorrow night everyone's Chinese roommates move in.
Anyone want to send me mail?!

Callie Ellison
CET Academic Programs
Capital Normal University
International Culture Plaza
83 Third Ring Road
Haidian District
Beijing, China 100089


I don't know if mail will actually get here if its in English. I have the address in Chinese characters, but getting them on the computer is the hard part. I'll see what I can do.


Zaijian!

everyone should read this

This is an article written by Christian music artist Steven Curtis Chapman - he and his wife adopted 3 girls from China (in addition to 3 of their own kids). The youngest of their Chinese daughters died in a recent accident.
This article is about his daughter but also about orphans worldwide who lack in everything we take for granted in the US.

Commentary: Our tragedy and God's love for orphans

By Steven Curtis Chapman Special to CNN

FRANKLIN, Tennessee (CNN) -- According to UNICEF, there are 143 million children in the world who have lost one or both parents.
In America alone, there are half a million children in foster care, and approximately 120,000 of these children are waiting to be adopted. In many countries, children are too often orphaned or abandoned because of poverty, disabilities and disease; every 15 seconds, a child loses a parent because of AIDS. These are staggering facts that can seem overwhelming and discouraging, but I believe that God has a loving plan for each child, and that plan is you and me.
Caring for these children is not the job of governments or institutions; instead, it is the job of families, people and communities. As Christians, our compassion is simply a response to the love that God has already shown us. Mother Teresa would constantly remind those who worked with her that the Bible clearly teaches that whatever we do for the least of these, we do for Jesus. So in a very real sense, caring for orphans is a chance to meet the person of Jesus in "the guise of human suffering." This is an invitation from the heart of God to know him and to experience his love.
Nine years ago, my wife and my eldest daughter, Emily, traveled to Haiti on a mission trip. Having been exposed to extreme poverty for the first time, Emily returned home with a determined passion to make a difference in the lives of at-risk children.
Only 12 years old, Emily went on an all-out campaign to persuade us to adopt. She bought a book on international adoption with her Christmas money and would read it to us regularly. She began fervently praying and writing letters to Mary Beth and me, encouraging us to consider giving a waiting child a home. Emily knew God was leading us in the direction of adoption; however, Mary Beth and I were not yet convinced.
My wife and I had always supported the idea of adoption, and as Christians, we understood the importance of loving and caring for others. But what I had not yet grasped was that adoption is a physical picture of what Jesus has done for me. I did nothing to deserve God's love; in fact, I was living as an orphan, without hope. Yet God chose to pursue a relationship with me, and through the death of his son Jesus, I was adopted into God's family. Watch Chapman and his family discuss their tragic loss »
My wife and I began moving toward adoption with fear and trembling and asking all the questions people ask. I remember Mary Beth crying herself to sleep at night saying, "What are we doing? I can't do this." However, God kept reassuring us that this was the direction he was leading us. It was a huge journey of faith for us.
In May of 2000, we found ourselves in a hotel room in China's Hunan province, welcoming the newest member of our family, Shaohannah Hope. From that moment, we began our journey into the world of adoption, orphan care and Shaohannah's Hope.
We went on to adopt Stevey Joy and Maria. Recently, our youngest daughter, Maria, passed from life on this earth and is now safely in the arms of Jesus. We have been completely overwhelmed by the love and support of so many during this time of deep, deep sadness. Through all that we've experienced, one thing we still know is true: God's heart is for the orphan. Watch Chapman home movies »
In our travels to Latin America, Africa and Asia, we have visited many different orphanages. If you look past the surroundings and into the eyes of the children, they all have the same look. They seem to convey, "I don't think this is what I was made for. Where do I belong?"
These children are crying out for the hope of a family, for the hope of community, for the hope of a permanent love. Our mission, and the mission of our adoption charity, Shaohannah's Hope, is to show hope to these children and to mobilize people, families and communities to be living examples of God's love for them.
We started Shaohannah's Hope in order to connect willing families with waiting children, but the reality is that there are many orphans who cannot be adopted. Even though we may not be able to bring them into our homes, we still have the opportunity to show them the hope we have.
If only 7 percent of the 2 billion Christians in the world would care for a single orphan in distress, there would effectively be no more orphans. If everybody would be willing to simply do something to care for one of these precious treasures, I think we would be amazed by just how much we could change the world.
We can each do something, whether it is donating, adopting, fostering, mentoring, visiting orphans or supporting families that have taken in orphans. You can change the world for an orphan.

CNN.com http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/07/chapman.orphans/




"If everybody would be willing to simply do something to care for one of these precious treasures, I think we would be amazed by just how much we could change the world."

AMERICA!

I made it back safely! It was 21 hours of a harrowing journey - well, harrowing delays - but I am back and enjoying such things as: skim milk, hot showers, a soft bed, drinking water from the tap! and petting my dog :)

In conclusion...

So today is technically my last day with China Care, and tomorrow is my last day in Shunyi, Beijing.
First, this internship has been great. I have learned alot about orphanage work in China, adoption, the role of non-profits in China, local Beijing politics, and so much more. While I may not be crazy about China, this internship has been an amazing experience. I have gotten to do so much more than sit at a desk! Teaching English and getting to know the older kids has been great, and I think that that was the best part of this experience. I am glad that I can come visit them this fall when I am back in Beijing. Getting to spend time with the babies and the younger preschoolers has been a great experience as well even though I am admittedly not a "baby person"!
Second, China Care is an amazing non-profit which is doing and has done so many wonderful things. Its great to realize that an organization can not only save so many children's lives, but also provide them with a life outside of an orphanage. Foster care is truly a great thing.
Third, I didn't really expect to change alot because of this experience. Its only for 2 months, right? But I think that it has definitely been a life-changing experience. If not just an eye-opening experience. While I'm still not sure if I want to work in the non-profit sector or in social work (sorry for my indecisiveness mom and dad!), having the opportunity to come to China to work with China Care has been amazing.
Fourth: thanks to my mom and dad for paying for my plane tickets and for buying me lots of stuff before coming to China! And for being open-minded about their daughter spending two months in a Chinese orphanage. Thanks to Jeff for talking to me everyday and for being a great support. Thanks to Zoe for being the best dog ever ;) AND thanks to everyone else who read my blog!

I will be back for China Round Two on August 26, 2008!!

Interns are smart too!

I realize now why I have liked this internship so much:


I have done absolutely no paperwork.
No photocopying, no faxing, no filing, no nothing.
And it has been glorious!!

8.8.08

Well its finally here, the Olympics! I will be hiding in Shunyi though for the duration because not only is Beijing with more people an unappealing prospect, but Chinese security scares me to death.
And I have to mention that I was outside for about an hour this morning buying muffins and tea :) and the smog was ridiculous. You could see about less than half a mile down the road at all times. No joke kids. The pollution is crazy.
Other than that I haven't been up to much this last week. Alot of the foster families went on vacation, or "get out of Beijing while the Olympics are here" trip. And because of that school is effectively over, so I have had no English classes. On top of that we have not been able to go to the Children's Homes because... well... that needs to be explained in person. Its sensitive material.
Anyway, 4 days and counting until I return to the United States. I'm excited. :D

Foreigners in Beijing

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/08/01/beijing.foreigners.ap/index.html

The Great Wall and the Last Day of Class

For our Great Wall excursion, we chose the Mutianyu section. Its about 60 to 70 km outside of Beijing, so it involved a long bus ride. But it was worth it! According to Mutianyu's website: "Family friendly Mutianyu offers a relaxing escape from the hustle-bustle of tourism, and the pollution of the city."

I don't know about relaxing... there were a lot of stairs involved! But it was an awesome and much-needed escape from Beijing.

The view on the way up to the wall. We chose to walk up instead of taking the cable car. It was a deathly walk of over 400 meters of stairs.

My first view of the Great Wall!

Yes, I wore pants to the Great Wall. Bad decision.

But I did bring my trusty umbrella. Good decision.

Pretty mountains.

whew! taking a break in one of the watch towers - where it was considerably cooler.

Feel the burn!

This shot is for Jeffrey! I tried to be artsy... :)

Mutianyu is a very beautiful section of the Wall. We also had a really beautiful day as well! And there were hardly any tourists out which is why I have so many pictures with no one them! Not that I minded, of course.

Blogger doesn't do my picture justice! But this was a really pretty view of the Wall in the distance.

So we came upon this massive set of stairs, and we had the time... so why not go on up!?

Oh yeah! I just climbed all that!

The view from the top! You will notice that you can't actually see the stairs at the top... thats because it was basically a vertical climb at that point which took both feet and hands.

But unfortunately, at the top was the end of the road at Mutianyu. You can see how badly the wall here has fallen into disrepair.

Victory!

The China Care kids and the interns who taught classes! :) This is the best picture ever.

I know the picture on Blogger isn't very big but I'll do (English) names anyways.

First row from the left: Aaron, Max, Jack, Eric, Billy, Helen, Tom, Tim, Ysabelle

Second row from the left: John Speed, Peter, Tim, David, Callie, Theresa, Kayla, Lauren, Jacob, Mary

So something called the Olympics is coming to town? Beijing doesn't seem excited about it at all.

Special effects for the Olympics.

A view of our street. Its not the greatest but you can see all the red lanterns that now deck the halls for the Olympics ;)

And of course, a post would not be complete without pictures of little Duoduo :D