July 22nd, 2015:

I've never felt so edified and validated before a group of students as I have here in China.  It wasn't anything I could have ever anticipated; frankly, I had no idea how my teaching style and interactions would fit in here in this beautiful country.  I've never seen a collective group of students soak up knowledge and want to know so much more, craving to maximize their potential and fluency in English.  There is no sarcasm, no laziness, no lethargy in learning.  They are just so fried by the end of the day after sitting through six or seven hours of different and varied English classes.  That would be like any one of us sitting in classes of a completely new and challenging language for that amount of time.  Different teachers, different activities.  The resiliency is beyond admirable and they are such a proverbial sponge, never to be fully satiated.

There is a class I see for 90 minutes every other day.  They are a very quiet, but respectful group of students.  Senior 2s are the equivalency of juniors.  The abilities range all over the place.  I shared an Aesop's Fable with them today, "The Ant and the Grasshopper".  They enjoyed the story very much and much to their pleasant surprise, I brought random illustrations printed in color and they started writing their own fable, a short story with a moral lesson at the end.  I printed illustrations from Little Red Riding Hood, James and the Giant Peach, Beatrix Potter's Peter Cottontail, The Polar Express, and other illustrated photos and it's just so great to hear a newly created version from the point of view of these Chinese students.  It gives life to the monotonous stories that many of us grew up reading, learning, telling.  To see the level of excitement in their expressions as they crafted their own creations was so fulfilling for me.

The bell rang and after I packed up, I was walking out the door and the student teacher was waiting for me outside the classroom.  She told me that the students told her that they love having me as their teacher, that I am a lot of fun and they think I am so funny. Again, one never knows the kind of impact they have on an individual, or a class for that matter.  I never know and although many of us come from societies that depend on instant gratification, this genuine acknowledgement was so much sweeter.  It's a pleasant surprise and one that will have me riding high as I continue to plan my lessons, interact with every individual, trying my best to bestow upon them the understanding that they are important and their ideas are unique, individual, and greatly appreciated!

In my adult class this morning, it was so hot!!!  It was so humid and the air was dead.  I couldn't believe how much I was sweating.  One of my sweet students, Chinin, left the room before we began and returned after a minute or so.  She bought me a refreshing, cold lemon-fruity drink and sat down.  They are so hospitable.  At the break of class, another one of my students tossed a piece of Dove's white chocolate to me.  It tasted so sweet and melted in my mouth, invoking a temporary sensory bliss.  She just smiled and walked out to the hallway to take a break.  I could spend my career here.  There's such a grand appreciation for teachers, and even a grander level of respect.  It's a respectful career choice and you would never hear the bitter saying, "it must be nice to have your summers off!" or "how hard could your job really be?"  There is something so powerful about the opportunity to teach young minds, craving minds, adults, children, anyone.  To impart knowledge and the power that follows it gives me such great purpose and when I feel rich with a hospitable, loving, and conscientious class, there is nothing that could age or cripple my mind, my heart, my being.

To work alongside of teachers, faculty, and staff that share those same goals, no matter where in the world you may be, there is an unstoppable force of bliss that encompasses me.  When you put those students and those teachers in the same environ, same classroom, same building, not one negative thought enters my mind. Not one negative person can slow me down.  Not one.

You know, many constantly share with me that they would never be able to do what I do.  However, until they've tried and experienced it, "never" should ever enter that statement.  It does make me wonder, however, if it is how the person embraces a moment.  I also wonder if they felt these "life highs" as I have, would they continue seeking it?  Sometimes, the "life highs" will not come from where we have been day in, day out.  Sometimes they do and we must embrace them and share them.  Sometimes they occur from far away, in my case halfway across the world, and now I can't imagine what life would have been for me if I had never ventured into the great unknown.  I always come back to Robert Frost, a quote I first practiced calligraphy in my junior high art class: "Two roads diverged in a wood and I- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference!"