Embracing My Dream Afar

When I was a student of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages, I had a dream of becoming a volunteer Chinese language teacher. In the summer of 2019, I boarded a flight alone from Urumqi, China, to Bangkok, Thailand, embarking on my journey as a volunteer. Pieces of memories kept hovering in my mind when I reflected back. I would appreciate those days, myself at that time, the pleasant country of Thailand, the nice and benevolent Thai people, and the warm and caring Thai students. I could still recall that when I was walking in the bustling streets of the Chinatown in Bangkok one night, I saw a foreign traveler, with a backpack and a smile on his face, eyes full of curiosity about the world unknown, alone but not lonely, free, casual, romantic and brave. I have now become a person like him, who I aspire to be, heading towards my faith on the path of volunteerism full of unknowns.

Two years later, in November 2021, I landed alone in La Coruña, Galicia, Spain, and was picked up at the airport by Mrs. Pilar and her pretty daughter. Looking out of the window as I sat in the car, the continent of Europe unveiled itself to me. Located in the northwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula, unlike the usual impression of a warm and sunny Spain, Galicia shows the coldness of the Atlantic Ocean: cold water, rough waves and continuous rainy days. When I arrived at the dormitory on my first day, Nuria, the principal of the language school where I taught at, gave me an umbrella and reminded me to carry it with me as she was worried that I couldn't adapt to the rainy winters here. It was a transparent umbrella, something I had longed for as a child but had never possessed. Despite the delayed luggage, exhaustion, and a sense of unfamiliarity and slight fear, I felt warmth and slowly began to adapt to the new place with the care and concern of the principal and teachers. The principal often packed the food she cooked and delivered to me downstairs in order to help me adapt to the environment, and I called her my Spanish mother with affection.

After a week or two, the weather finally cleared up and I couldn't wait to go along the coastline and run up to the Tower of Hercules, the world's only lighthouse still in use dating back to the ancient Roman period, with a history of more than 1,900 years. There is a compass under the lighthouse, pointing to different countries along the Atlantic coast, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, to show the direction for voyagers. Standing in the middle of the compass, I was seeking for direction and for myself as well, exploring the world and me myself. From China to Thailand, from Thailand to Spain, I became more and more aware of what I aspire for in life. Everyone had their own choices to make, and I chose to proceed on this path as a volunteer Chinese language teacher.

As a volunteer Chinese language teacher, I am resolute and brave, which comes from the understanding and recognition of my identity: I am both a volunteer and a beneficiary, a teacher and a learner. Along the way, I saw people playing music in their own yards, people sitting on the beach snuggling with their loved ones, and people surfing in the cold winter ... I had more life insights and a more colorful life journey because of them.

The way ahead is long; I see no ending, yet high and low I will search with my will unbending. I will keep traveling on the path of international Chinese language education.