Natalie Brock, Parent

The people at Shu Ren treated us to a daylong tour of a city about an hour away from Nanjing. I am not sure of the Chinese spelling, but it is pronounced “young-Joe.” Imagine something out of a movie with beautiful traditional Chinese architecture, weeping willows, rivers, lotus plants and many stone bridges and paths, and you have a picture of where we were. As our guide told us, “The people here are very carefree. There has been no war to destroy the buildings or people.”

We ate lunch at a traditional Chinese restaurant where, once again, more food was served than any of us could eat. I tried the eel but was drawn to the turnip greens wrapped in dough. I felt like I was tasting a little bit of home.

We were all in awe of the Buddhist temple and tried our best to follow our guides and do the right thing. We have learned that there are many subtle traditions and customs that the Chinese follow, and all of us wanted to show our respect for this sacred place.

On the ride home, we sang Beatles songs, Dixie Chicks and Billy Joel to the delight of our guide, Sissy. She is a vibrant, brilliant young woman who has a terrific sense of humor.

We start again bright and early tomorrow with a new group of students.  I look forward to teaching them but, more importantly, learning from them. I know that all of the teachers at Pasco will never look at the classroom in the same way again.