Tuesday, July 21, 2009

things i learned in china...

(i'm not sure if this is done yet, so check back for updates.)
  • it's not better or worse, it's just different.
  • i love chopsticks.
  • it's amazing what you can communicate with a shared vocabulary of 10 words.
  • taxicab and consumerist chinese - i can get home and i can buy things, what else do i really need?
  • people can get used to pretty much anything.
  • the rules and skills for bartering are highly relative to the location.
  • in houston, all good things came in strip malls. in china, they come on mobile carts.
  • grab/do it when you see it. it may be your only chance.
  • nature makes me happy deep down in the pit of my soul.
  • so do wide open spaces. but i think i already knew that.
  • see also: rock music.
  • in practice, buddhism can have way more rituals and deism than i ever realized.
  • there are like 4 different kinds of eggplant.
  • kindergarten is a wonderful place to start a teaching career, though i'm not sure i need to do it again.
  • i've still got some things to learn about teaching.
  • yoga is way better when you understand what the instructor is saying.
  • this is a stereotype, but in my experience, japanese kids are adorable.
  • 5-year-olds amaze and amuse me.
  • my stomach, unfortunately, is not made of iron.
  • life is always a trade-off. i love my adventures, but i hate missing everything at home.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

great list. I would have given you full credit for this list as your "final personal philosophy" in my philosophy course :)

Something to think about: I love reading your posts and I love (some) of the 1st year teacher "journals" that have been published. Have you thought about collecting all your ruminations (on the blog and other places) and working toward making them some kind of a book?

Unknown said...

interestingly, part of my motivation to blog this past year was an effort to contribute to a book of journals from first year teachers. unfortunately, everyone's motivation tapered over the year and i'm not really clear on whether that project has completely died or not.

there are actually way more blogs that i didn't post than ones i did, though i doubt enough for a book. perhaps after this year, since i feel like i'm completely starting over anyway. we'll call it a series of firsts.