The month of July 2010 was one that I will forever remember. Not only was there fun, experiences and memories, but my heart was stolen; my heart became motivated to do what I am doing today! I spent my July 2010 in LongDe, China, located in Ningxia province. My team through my organization consisted of ten wonderful and beautiful women with whom I experienced everything. We were technically two separate teams, five of us teaching at LongDe Middle School #1, and the other five teaching at school #2. We spent our days laughing, planning, telling stories, and most importantly sharing stories from the day. But that’s not what stole my heart.
We had a favorite restaurant in the city {and by ‘city’ I mean one street about a mile long, planted in the biggest mountain range I have ever seen}. This was the restaurant where we would often be placed in the front dining room, so passer-bys could see that the foreigners chose to dine in the “Yellow Restaurant”{as with all buildings in China, their titles and signs are in Chinese characters, leaving us foreigners who are inept at reading them absolutely clueless as to what the actual names of places and buildings are. Therefore, we refer to these places with titles based upon their physical appearance. Our favorite restaurant just so happened to have its title in a fluorescent yellow, making it stand out against the bleak other buildings that neighbored it}. Yes, this place was the only place that we could find that served sweet & sour chicken that identified with our American taste buds, as well as a trusted place for trying new and (sometimes) delicious Chinese cuisine. But that’s not what stole my heart.
Being the first foreigners to ever stay in the city of LongDe for an extended period of time (no joke), we were treated like royalty and were quite literally the talk of the town. Our weekends were spent being shown off to government officials, and taken here and there to many beautiful sights of China. Our adventures included an excursion to the ever so famous Liupan Mountain. (In case you didn’t know, Chairman Mao wrote a poem about it.) We were taken to hidden waterfalls, museums, and tiny towns with cute architecture. Truly they were sights to see, and provided for me a deeper love and (somewhat) understanding of the Chinese culture. But that’s not what stole my heart.
My heart was stolen by those we encountered every day. My students at LongDe Middle School #1 were selected to be a part of summer camp. This was the first year that summer camp was being offered. The students were ever so grateful for the opportunity. Upon the first day we were to come up with a class name. My class chose “Class Summer Dream”, explaining that this summer opportunity was a dream come true for them. My beloved Summer Dream and I spent every morning together, working through readings in English, how to pronounce “th” verses “s”, and working with one another to improve our English skills. Some of my students came in as strangers to each other, but we left as family.My heart was stolen by students like Jaime, who will forever be the poster child for why I want to be a teacher. But he is not alone; you can read about the others here. There is no doubt that my heart will be stolen time and time again in this upcoming year, but I feel as though it is always important to reflect and cherish in going back to the basics, back to the roots, and back to your first love.
