Over the course, I learned that you had to try and adapt to the classes personalities. Introductions at the beginning of class were a good icebreaker, and helped many overcome their nervousness to participate. However, a few classes needed...

The day of the trip to China arrived, and I was a bit anxious to be riding without my family. On the plane to Shanghai, I sat in a seat without any familiar faces, thinking of how boring and...

A few months ago this trip seemed only a fantasy, a mere ripple in reality. And then, I found myself boarding the plane for a trip to the lush Shennongjia Mountains, to teach the kindest and happiest kids I...

When I first walked into the girl’s dormitory, I was surprised at how spacious and clean it was. Later, I realized that our dorm was slightly wider than the students’ dorms. Our dorm consisted of four bunk beds; the...

Each class period lasted 40 minutes long, but Yujia and I (we usually taught together) often started 5 minutes early so that each student to give a brief introduction of themselves. These introductions helped warm the class up so...

Hi, my name is Emily Xu or 徐一苇. I was part of the 9-member group of ABCs (American born Chinese) sent to Shennongjia, China, to teach. We taught at a boarding school for two weeks with a 5-day vacation...

Our first evening at the school was uneventful. We missed the scheduled dinner, so the school cooks prepared extra food for us that we could not eat by ourselves. We then spent the entire rest of the time in...

We had two groups that met up in Shanghai and Beijing, before departing as a whole to Yichang. At Yichang, we met with the other group and embarked on the 5-hour drive to the school. The drive was enveloped...