Lost

I stumbled across this image on pinterest one day. Normally, I don't pay all that much attention to these sort of pictures, but when I saw this I resonated with it so much, that I had to post it on this blog. After being in China for just over a month I am finally starting to feel settled. I have a better grasp on my job, have established contacts, and am settling into some sort of routine. I even have started Chinese lessons! However, I initially struggled with deciding if I should move here to teach English. For those who don't know, teaching English was always my "back up plan" or "safety net." If nothing else worked out, then this is what I decided I would do. My heart lies with refugees and/ or community development work. When I first started teaching I was frazzled by the struggles of learning classroom management while simultaneously being sensitive to the culture around me. These frustrations made me anxious and I felt very lost. Why am I teaching English? It works for some people, but this isn't what I want to do long term. I am happy to be in China, but why am I at this particular job and living in such an empty part of Tianjin? In a way, I felt lost because life simply isn't going the direction I wanted it to. When I graduated college I had a mental road map of what direction I thought my life should take. Well, things never seem to work out the way we want, do they? However, I am finding that each and every day I am gaining more perspective and seeing things more clearly. While it's good to set goals for yourself and have a general road map of where you want to go in life, don't become frustrated or overwhelmed if you are led somewhere else. If you end up taking a scenic route instead of the direct path that you wanted, enjoy it. There have been so many instances where I just chuckle and say to myself "This is why I love living in China."

Today I had the awesome experience of going to Beijing with my coworkers. It was so great being able to get to know people outside of the work routine. My day was filled with many precious memories and new experiences. We started by meeting at the school at 5:15 am, which meant waking up at about 4:30...yuck! We took a bus to Tangu and from there took the train to Beijing. We went to visit Temple of Heaven and then did some shopping in Beijing. On the way back we had to take the subway to get to the train station, but the subway had too many people, so we had to walk to the next station. As a result, we were behind schedule. Naturally, when we did make it into the station the security checkpoint was packed out! Eventually, we got on the subway, but had to run through the station to get to the train. we nearly missed it, but luckily I made it back to my apartment :) It was definitely a show seeing our group running through the station and sliding on the tile floor when we had to slow down.

Despite all the ups and downs of living in another country, everyday I fall more in love with China and am learning more about myself than I thought possible.