We are back from China, to our home in Boise once again. Notice the blue sky in the photo, which was a rare thing in China. That was one of the things that I really missed while in China. Blue sky was rarely seen in Jinan because of air pollution.
We left our second home in Jinan in a heavy rainstorm with mixed feelings of sadness and happiness. We are happy to be returning back home to our our family, but sad to leave our good friends in China.
Our flight home was 23 hours elapsed time, including waiting time in airports, and a very long flight from Beijing to San Francisco. This gave me some time to reflect on our time in China.
It was a time for a lot of hard work. There was a lot of class preparation, and up to as much as twenty hours a week in the classroom. It was a time for making many wonderful friends. We had the privilege of spending time with some of the nicest people we have ever met. Generally speaking, the Chinese people that we knew were kind, gentle, respectful, polite, and just good people.
It was a time for traveling throughout China, observing the beautiful scenery and getting a feel of the cultures in the many cities that we traveled to.
It was a time for helping and being helped by our fellow teachers and colleagues, including our American friends,as well as those from Spain, Russia, Japan, France, Australia, and Korea. They were also good friends.
It was a time for trying different teaching methods, some of which were effective, and some that were not. In an adult beginners class that I taught, I was met with blank stares more than once. I could easily tell that they sometimes had no idea what I was talking about. But towards the end of the first semester, I found that I could reach them, and I think I was successful in helping my students with their English speaking (and writing) skills.
It was a time for growth on my part in regard to my teaching skills and ability to stand in front of a class and conduct an effective and meaningful lesson to my students.
It was a time for helping our students outside the classroom. I, along with Mrs S spent many untold hours with students, whether just hanging out and talking to them, giving them advice with personal issues or helping them write research papers, theses, and applications for visa's or to study abroad. Jason, a friend of one of one of Mrs S's students came to our apartment every Thursday afternoon to hang out and talk for a couple of hours. I spent hours with Jack, helping him with his masters thesis. Mrs S and I spent several hours with Tony, helping him to prepare for an interview in his quest to enter a masters program at UC Berkley in California. I gave several of my girl students advice on their boyfriend situations: (usually, dump the boyfriend and concentrate on their studies). Mrs S and I spent hours correcting high tech papers written by PhD students on various subjects. (we found that we had to be very careful with the grammar and punctuation to not change the meaning of a sentence or paragraph). We both participated as judges in English speech contests, which included asking the contestants extemporaneous questions. I gave two hour lectures on a monthly basis on topics of American Culture, during the first semester that we were there. We received no extra pay for any of these things, but to us the personal rewards of helping these good people in some small way were more than words can describe.
It was a time for attending church meetings with our little group of ten to fifteen members, enjoying spiritual experiences and weekly Sunday dinners together.
It was a time for memories that I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life.
Comments