I have to say my teaching experience was also a learning experience. I learned a lot about adjusting and accepting another culture. I gave China a nickname while I was there I called it "Land of Smiles" it just seemed so appropriate to me. Whenever I was outside to go somewhere or to do something I always only saw smiles on everyone's face. I had another nickname for China also the "Land of Hellos". That came about because it also seemed everywhere I went many people would be saying HELLO! to me. I could sometimes hear a hello from WAY across the street. This was sometimes annoying but usually I just found it funny. Once I was walking down the street and I was invited by several men to eat lunch with them. They did not speak English but they still invited me to lunch by using hand gestures and whatever else they could use. I always thought that was so nice the eagerness to meet a foreigner.
I had some wonderful friends in China and I still keep in contact with them through QQ International. For many of my Chinese friends I am the first foreigner they have ever met and they tell me it is an honor that I am their friend. That is so nice to be respected like that. For me that is too much but for my Chinese friends they are very serious when they say it is an honor to have me as a friend. To me it is an honor to still have them as friends. This was a wonderful opportunity that I got when living in China to make friends with locals and really discover Chinese culture in this way. I also like the way Chinese greet each other. In America we like to say "hi how are you?" Chinese say "Did you eat yet?" When I first heard this greeting I thought it was so strange cause I always thought they were asking me to go somewhere to eat or something. Living and teaching in China was such a great experience.
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