This summer I am going to Chang Ping, China, which is an hour outside of Beijing. I will be living on the campus of Peking University and teaching college students English. The whole thought is a bit scary to me, considering I don't know anyone else going, I'll be half way around the world, and teaching students my same age. But...I am really excited at the same time. Supposedly the students already know English, but they have never heard a native speak before. My job is to give them conversational practice. So basically, I get to hang out with Chinese students all summer. The students come for three weeks, and stay over night in the dorms. I will have an American roommate, but we will be in the same dorms as the students. We also get to eat all of our meals with them.
The best part is, I am going with a Christian organization. Most Chinese are atheists, and only a very small percentage of the people are Christian. I will likely be the only Christian most of them have ever met! What an opportunity! Through teaching them about our culture, and our holidays, I will hopefully get to share the gospel with them. I pray that somehow they will see something different in me before I even tell them I'm a Christian. I hope that they will ask me questions, and then I'll get to explain why I believe what I believe. I really think that this will be the best summer I've ever had.
I have never been out of the country for this long (a little over 2 months), so I'm sure it will be streching and challenging. I hope that the adjustment will be easy, and that I will get right into the swing of things in Chinese life.
Also, all of the lesson planning is kind of left up to me. I am trying to think up as many creative ideas as I can, to keep them interested. I want it to be a classroom where they learn English, but also about life.
I leave June 22, and come back August 28. The time is coming quicker than I realize!
