A Warm Welcome

The sky was clear and the sun was shining on my walk to ORTVs main office.

Today was to be the beginning of my journey at ORTV. I had no idea what to expect, but luckily there was no need for low expectations here. The people of Dazhi (the area where I live and where ORTVs office is located), are unbelievably nice, and since so many of OTRVs teachers live here, they are accustomed to seeing foreign faces. I said good morning to a few locals before I turned the corner and saw the ORTV building.

I walked through the front door and received nothing but smiles and friendly hellos. Everyone at ORTV speaks impressive English, which is expected at an English teaching media company, but welcome nonetheless.

I immediately recognized several people. Cindy Tu, a mother of one of the students that attended the summer university program that I have been involved with at APU, greeted me with a big hug, and a thank you for taking care of her daughter. I also ran into Jack Kao, a former classmate and friend of mine also from APU. In fact, I discovered that there are many connections at APU, which is a welcome treat.

After chapel, I got to meet just about everyone in the building, and then it was time to see my desk

No complaints here.

I have a desk with a beautiful view of the city and a balcony on the third floor in the English department. This is where I will be working on articles and other projects that I am assigned outside of the TV department, which is located across a small street.

In fact, as soon as I was situated, it was time for me to head over to the studio. ORTV has a state of the art film studio with a virtual set, so the actors are filmed, and then placed inside a 3D studio through a blue screen. I will be "teaching" using this set starting on Tuesday, which means I will be one of the actors for Studio Classroom.

Very cool.

I've already been put right to work at ORTV, and I've gotten pretty busy, but it feels nice to always have something to do, and it feels even better knowing that the work done here is for the glory of God!

"All of these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefor God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." - Hebrews 11:13-16