Time Waits For No One

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I am no longer a teacher. The phrase has been echoing in my head throughout the day. I wasn't a teacher before I came to China, but after spending a year with that profession as my identity, I feel a sense of loss. Every day for the past year, I have been known as "Teacher Merritt". When asked by inquisitive shopkeepers what my purpose is in Beijing, I proudly told them "I'm a teacher". I felt as though I had something to contribute to the world, the ability to teach something to those who desperately wanted to learn it.

My last working day was 2 days ago, Thursday, September 27. Initially, I felt as though it was the start of my weekend; indeed, Friday and Saturday were the days off I enjoyed each week. Today, however, I realized that I won't be returning to the school again, at least not in medium I previously did.

Despite my small feelings of sadness over the end of my teaching career (at least for now) I am looking forward, and ahead, to the future. Tomorrow night I will board a train bound for Lhasa, Tibet; a journey that will take nearly 2 days. Through the window, I will watch the landscape of China fly by; from the skyscrapers and polluted air of the affluent cities on the eastern coast, to the rice paddies and traditional terracing of the South and to the mountains and clear, crisp air of the West. I can hardly stand the wait.

Riding the train for 2 days will also give me an opportunity to converse with people from all walks of life in China. This will provide me with not only the chance to practice my Chinese, but to gain a glimpse into the lives of China's citizens. I am sure many of the conversations will be sprinkled with patriotic pride as China's National Day, the 58th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, is celebrated. My neighborhood is already flush with red as the national flag flies from every flagpole and storefront.

I am going to the rooftop of the world. Visiting Mount Everest base camp will be monumental, not only for the physical taxation required, but also for the opportunity to see for myself one of the world's natural wonders. China is home to so much history; from the Great Wall to the Forbidden City, from the Terracotta Warriors to Mount Everest, from the handover of Hong Kong to the continued dispute over Taiwan. This country is moving full-steam ahead, and I am so excited to be present as witness, to be a part of history.

This year has been a real learning experience for me. Many days, I felt as though I learned more from my students than they did from me! The respect and adulation they lavished upon me every day felt so unearned; I was merely doing my job. However, in traditional Chinese society, a teacher is one of the most respectful posts one can hope to attain. This idea was only one of many from Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher. It's an enormous shame and loss for China that the Great Leap Forward of the 1950s and the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s cast aside these moral teachings that had been in place for thousands of years. Today, China's president, Hu Jintao, embraces the slogan "a harmonious society" and I hope he will reinstate some of the teachings of yesteryear. In that way, China can retain its old and traditional culture while its economic and political structures can continue to move forward.

I am including some photographs of parts of my last few days in Beijing; after I return from Tibet, I'll spend four days tying up loose ends and then board a jet to take me home. It has been a long time.

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Photos

Some of my students and Me
I'll really miss them.

Good friends at Work
Michelle, Virginia, Me, Anna and Luana

Beijing at dusk
These rows of skyscrapers are very close to my school

Nanjing Road
Famous shopping street

Gotta love the giant piano
China is random.

Traditional Chinese Music
Zhongshan Park in Shanghai