It is possible to be homesick for a place you've never visited? I just looked through some travel photos and journal entries of travelers to India. I have this feeling inside my stomach, like butterflies or something, only it is a strong desire to travel here. It has kind of always been a dream of mine to travel to this country. This is something that is on my mind these days, and being in China - India is in my backyard.

Alot to think about.

something that inspired me today...

Aimee Mullins: The opportunity of adversity | Video on TED.com

collective rhythm

One of the most beautiful and curious parts of my job is that I get to have daily conversations with students where we exchange information about our backgrounds, our countries, and our cultures. While I try to convince myself that I'm the teacher in the classroom, the students have no idea that they are actually teaching me every moment.

I had a student say something very articulate today.

In a class about the meaning of different gestures around the world, I had the students make sentences about giving advice to foreigners who come to China, and the manners they should be aware of. One student in my class said, "foreigners should remember that they need to respond to the collective rhythm of the group. They can't make decisions based on themselves, but for the good of the group."

Now, while my immediate reaction is, "Well, that's communism for you," I also thought about what a unique perspective this actually is. The collective rhythm. While at times I find myself fighting against a kind of collectivism in class, encouraging students to be different or to take responsibility for themselves, I'm realizing there are certain aspects of students thinking that I can learn from. So, I allow moments like these in class to teach me.

In North America, its so easy for us to be individuals. We are who we are - we strive to be unique and self-reliant. While I think being unique is an important value, I also think that we have become, at times, so self-reliant that we start to live too much for ourselves. What this student said just made me change my perspective again.

Its refreshing to be taught something if we allow ourselves to listen.

a reminder...

Had a friend remind me tonight that in China its so easy to just see the ways we fail, or the things that are difficult. Its not uncommon on any given day to be laughed at publicly on the street, made a fool of because of our language skills (or lack there of), or just generally feel like we are incapable of full understanding our surroundings. Over dinner, we were talking with another friend who has only been in China for about 4 weeks. She reminded alot of us that what we are doing here and why we are doing it, is pretty amazing. She also mentioned that you have to be a certain kind of person to do this. To say that we have lived in China, is to say that we have overcome something.

I just needed reminding of this today.

life is sweet.

So, recently I've had some really exciting things happen. I can't believe that life is unfolding as it is.

The first one piece of news - I got accepted into graduate school. I opened my inbox a couple weeks ago to find an email from the admissions office at St.Francis Xavier in Nova Scotia, with these words: you have been accepted. I sigh of relieve immediately came over me. As of April 2011, I will be an official graduate student in the Master of Adult Education program. Again, I feel like life has shifted. I feel like I've entered a new phase again. Its so easy here to feel like I'm in a bubble. I know this experience I'm having here is a unique one, but now its transformed: I see my students differently, I think more about the exchanges that happen in my classroom, and more importantly, I'm coming to view my self as a teacher. I think I shyed away from the term "teacher" for a while, but I've learned to pay attention to what I love about the field of adult education. I have grown to love working with adult learners from different cultures other than my own. We learn from each other, laugh together, and build relationships with one another.

What I thought would be one year teaching in Japan, turned into now almost 4 years of living in two foreign countries.

Over the past few years, I've also grown to love taking pictures and I have felt the need to share them with others. A good friend of mine here in Beijing put me in contact with a woman who owns a small culture centre here. She took a look at some of my photos online, and almost immediately emailed me to ask if she could have them posted at The Culture Yard. Getting the chance to do something like this was so exciting. I poured through photo after photo from the past few years to select the ones that meant the most to me.

I've heard of those lists that people have of the things they want to accomplish or do before they die. If I had a list like this, I feel like I'd be able to cross a few things off.

These past two weeks, everyday I have found a reason to smile. I ride my bike to work, I teach my classes, I visit with friends, and I feel so full of joy. I used to feel guilty or bad about being happy, but I've learned that everything in life - no matter how small or how big, needs to be celebrated. I'm so excited about how life is unfolding, and where it is taking me.

And, so the countdown begins. I have 9 months left in China. I'm going to make it my best yet.