A special day with our teacher students

Thought for the day:
Tomorrow is dream that leads me onward
Tomorrow is a path I’ve yet to choose.
It’s a chance I’ve yet to take,
a friend I’ve yet to make,
it’s all the talent I’ve yet to use.
Tomorrow is a dream that leads me onward,
always just a step ahead of me.
it’s the joy I’ve yet to know,
the love I’ve yet to show,
for it’s the reason I have yet to be.

This is our second Thursday. It is a very special day because we will receive something very special from our students.

After breakfast we are transported to school and report to our respective classrooms. Today in our classroom we are pleased to have 10 students. We solicit student feedback from yesterday’s mini lectures. Then we invite more student family history sharing. This exercise is followed by an extended activity going through acting out eating in an American restaurant. Our students study varied menus, learn about American currency, and gain information on sales tax and tipping. The next activity is a vocabulary word game using the word “international”. This in turn is followed by a discussion on American and Chinese holidays. Then under my very able team mate “Nancy” we practice our favorite song, “What can one little person do” After a class break we have an extended pronunciation and dialogue exercise. And suddenly it has become lunch time and our very special treat.

The students are to buy our lunch! As we walk to a nearby restaurant we take many group photos and engage in more personal interaction. We dine in a private room and go through 13 menu dishes – many of the dishes look very strange and foreign, and we are somewhat apprehensive about sampling some of them, nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoy our meal along with all the friendly conversation and toasting. We are definitely bonding much more closely together and interacting accordingly.

From the restaurant we walk through a very narrow alley leading to Green Lake Park. There we meander and stroll, people watching, photo taking, and enjoying the beautiful scenery in the park alongside the lake. There are so many visual delights! Escorted by our students, we end our visit to the park at 2.30. To my great surprise, the students carry our backpack and other materials. They even helped get us a taxi and then paid for the fare back to our hotel.

Nancy and I return to the hotel. The rest of the afternoon is free time. We regroup for dinner. Our team leader helps us plan for the next day which will be our last official teaching day along with the closing ceremony. It will be a day of mixed feelings, somewhat remorseful for the end of another great Global Volunteer service program. We will look back with many fond memories for all the unique experiences mutually exchanged under the superb leadership of our excellent Chinese host Wang Bao Li.

Don