After another adventure-filled summer, I'm left weary-legged and saggy-eyed as I boarded my flight from Victoria to Vancouver to Tokyo to Dalian. I've been back almost two weeks and this passage of time has zipped by with a serious amount of urgency. I attempt to ask, "Why the hurry?", but Time has no regard for such nonsensical questions. The weekends are now full of errands and recovering from too much excitement, and the weekdays are filled with the furious race to be ready for the hooligans waiting for us (im)patiently in classrooms. New faces appear every day and just when the moment arrives when I've come to learn the names of many/most of my students, classes change or shuffle or shift so that I'm left reeling. PE facilities are constantly being rearranged to accommodate a variety of challenges and ongoing requests. And, being the social creature I am, I feel compelled to sign up for everything being offered up by my ambitious co-workers.
In all the continual hubbub, I can't seem to focus long enough on a story in my head to tease out anything of interest. But I was able to finish posting my summer pictures (all the ones I can manage to put up), and enough time to read the blog of a friend from last year who moved on to the brighter pastures in Pakistan to teach. N&J are now in Lahore, Pakistan working at another international school. And after being sent the link, I realized that N wasn't kidding about J's talent for writing. So, in the spirit of passing the buck, GO HERE to read about N&J's adventures in the South Asian lands of Pakistan. The link is a fantastic story which makes me believe that some profound experiences are only found when immersing one's self in a new place and new culture. Check out the rest of her blog when you have time.
In the meantime for me, I'm signing off. Enjoy the pics, enjoy J's story, and I'll write more in coming days... particularly about small linguistic triumphs and my moments of love for this place called China. Until then...
T
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