from slow motion for me, to more than a feeling.

I started this week thinking that I seem to be getting into a real rhythm in regards to my work schedule. I am starting to become a little bored with the classes and routine of it all. Thank god the National Day holiday is just around the corner. I think it will serve as a source of reinvigoration and when I come back I can work with the same gusto I had upon my arrival when everything was still new and fresh.

That being said I had a great time teaching my first geography class of the semester. My teaching partner and I are offering two sections of the class a week. The first is on Wednesdays and is for the Senior 1 students (the students with less English), and the second section on Thursday for the Senior 2 students (the students with more English). I taught the Senior 2 class and it was awesome. These kids have a great vocabulary that they like to show off which is different for me. I only teach Senior 1 normally and its like pulling teeth trying to get those kids to talk. Because of their vast vocabulary I was able to speak at a pace which is more conversational. Although it is not an English class many of these kids are in the class to be exposed to English at a higher level. I told them that if they want to study at an American university they will be taking classes on subjects they know little about and the teacher will not be speaking at a snail's pace either. So they loved that explanation and all paid attention for the rest of the lesson.

I started the lesson by presenting pictures of places to which I have traveled. They had to guess where the pictures were taken. They were good at that exercise. So then we got into an in-depth conversation about each country I had pictures of; Greece, Canada, US, and New Zealand were all extremely interesting places to them. We talked about everything including, but not limited to, culture, natural features, native peoples, and climate. I had one girl who had spent one year at a high school in Tilden, Texas. I can't imagine going from Beijing to Tilden. What a culture shock. I spoke with this girl after class and we discussed her experiences in the USA. She told me about her host family and how all the family members were shocked to find out she didn't know who Jesus was. That sounds like a hilarious situation to me, hell even she was laughing as she recounted the experience. She ended up traveling all around Texas and even got to go to Prom...with a boy!! She showed me a picture of her and her date that she keeps in her wallet. I told her that we will try to incorporate her experiences into a class on American youth culture.

Today is Friday and I can't even understand the boredom I felt earlier in the week. Everyday I see something on the street that is amazing (or shocking, whatever the case may be). Like last night, I saw about 20 or 30 old women with wooden blocks. They were singing traditional songs and banging out the rhythm on a street corner, amazing. Earlier this week I ate seahorse on a stick, shocking.

Just talking to people and seeing things through their eyes really reminds me of why I came. I'm not really here to teach English, that is not my passion. I came here to learn, understand, and participate in a culture where I am an outsider. Every time I eat something new or talk with someone about traditions, views, or even just sports I am renewed with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction and peace. Oh, to be a stranger in a strange land.