Next month, it will have been four years since I went to China. I can honestly say that my time in China was one of the most life-changing experiences Iāve ever had. I have not been the same person since I stepped off that plane after a long flight home.
For those who are not familiar with my trip to China, hereās a quick recap: I spent one month living in China - one week training in Hong Kong, and 3 weeks teaching an āEnglish Campā for high school students in a semi-rural area of the smallest province in China. It was amazing experience to live in another culture, especially in a small city where we were the first foreigners to ever stay there more than a day. Without a doubt, the highlight of the trip was time spent with students. We had so much fun together, and I developed close bonds with my students as I learned their stories, hopes, and struggles.
This was our first day together.
And this was our last.
Even though itās been four years, I canāt think of a single day when I havenāt thought about China. However, lately, it has been weighing more heavily on my mind. I still keep in contact with some of students, via email and QQ. I recently received an email from one of them, telling me of his struggles at university: he worries that he picked the wrong university, his major is difficult, the power is shut off at night, the professors are rarely present, itās such a financial burden to his parents, and he is faced, like all Chinese students, with an overwhelming pressure to succeed. And as the son of a farming family from the country, he is already disadvantaged. His email ended with a simple plea: āhelp me, help me.ā
I felt completely helpless. What on earth could I possibly say or do to help this young man? With limited email as our only means of communication, very little. After spending some time thinking about it and talking to a friend who has also taught English in China, I wrote back to him expressing my concern and empathy.
Itās so frustrating to me that thereās so little I can do for him and other students like him. And as difficult as it was for me to answer his email, and as difficult as my life seems sometimes, I realize that his is most likely much more difficult. In a society where students face an overwhelming pressure to find a good job to support their parents (especially if they are the only child), failure leaves them feeling hopeless and helpless.
Judah and I always have the thought in the back of our minds that we want to go back to China one day. These faces remind me why.
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My girls |
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My boys |
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Learning about Christmas |
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"Miss Jane, this is our very very very special Christmas tree!" |
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So much laughter! |
Ahhhh So wonderful =) Their FACES!!!
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