Competition in China

There is NEVER a dull moment when you live in China! In fact, sometimes life is so not-dull that I need to remind myself to take a deep breath every once in a while and rest......
This past week has brought with it some unexpected surprises, as most weeks do, and this one happened to be in the form of a person! Now, I'm sure some of you are thinking, "Shannon met a man!" Sorry to disappoint you...hasn't happened yet. :(
Anyways, if you've been keeping up with my blogs than you all know Echo, my Chinese friend that I went to visit in October. About a month ago she asked me if her cousin could come and stay with me for about a month in order to practice her English. I said, "Sure, why not?" and then never heard back from her about whether or not it was happening. So, on Wednesday night I got a phone call from Echo's cousin and she said, "I'm coming to Tianjin! I booked my ticket for Saturday!" So, in perfect Chinese-style timing, Si Wen showed up last night! After I found out she was coming, I booked her a room on campus so that she can be close to me and she will be my little shadow for the next several weeks... Although, I spoke with her today and it looks like she may sign up for a 5 month class here in Tianjin, which means she will have an English class everyday! Why am I telling you all of this? Well, I wanted you to get a picture of how stiff the competition is here in China, especially for college students. Many Chinese students will do whatever is in their power (or their pocketbook) to get a little bit more experience, a little bit more practice, and a little bit more education. They have to! Si Wen is 24 but she is planning to study in the U.K. for a while and she needs to improve her English before she goes. As unexpected as this was, I want to be flexible and help her as much as possible! Echo is one of my best friends and her family has treated me so well, this is the least I can do for them.
On another note...for a visual in this posting I am attaching a picture that I took with some of my students a few nights ago.



And finally...some other news! I was asked to write an article for a magazine that is published here in Tianjin. It's specifically for ex-pats and I was asked to be a guest writer! Hehehehe...I'll post the article on my blog once it's done so that you can all see my published work!! :)