I woke up this morning to a feeling of overwhelming sadness. I felt frustrated and just not myself. After a couple of coffees and some reflection, I am feeling a bit better.
It’s okay to be sad sometimes. And it’s okay to cry or even yell in a pillow to let some of the feelings out. Just try not to let it take over your day.
Shadows, clouds in the sky, so many things that are every day events can make our imaginations play tricks on our minds. So – what can you see?
Remember when you were a child, and you’d lay on your back and look at the clouds? You’d see a dinosaur, or maybe a rabbit. Your imagination would be at play while looking at the clouds float by in the sky.
I think adults need to do this more. I was out walking today, a few times, and enjoying the gorgeous day that we had here, and I looked up at the blue skies and watched the clouds float by. They looked like waves to me today. Wispy type waves.
I love taking pictures. I try to get a good angle when I take them to make them more interesting, at least to me! I look back at the pictures and try to see things I may have missed when taking the picture. And, maybe not surprising to some, all my pictures are taken with my phone. I love my Samsung!
Maybe tomorrow, if the skies are blue and clouds float by, we should all take a moment and look up, stop and see what we can see.
Grade 2 kids ~ these kids are so smart, they are gaining confidence with their English, and are very inquisitive. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked how old are you (answer is always older than you), are you okay, where do you live, what’s your phone number, and the list goes on.
They love games ~ Teacher Says is their favourite. Its been challenging to keep them interested and motivated but I have succeeded.
I definitely have favourite students ~ I would be lying if I said I didn’t. Leo, Tom, Hardy, Ang Lee, Lucy and Ella are the ones that I love seeing every day.
Seven grade 2 classes, average of 40 students in a class ~ a lot of inquisitive children who are always excited to see me! They love feeding me their snacks too (usually with their hands right into my mouth ~ no wonder I had so many colds!).
The unabashed hugs, taking my hand and leading me into class, the excited faces when I stand at the front of class and say “Teacher says stand up!” ~ those are the moments I will miss the most.
These kids have made me a better teacher with their questions and their eyes lighting up when they realize they can understand what I am saying. Their quick minds, short attention spans and endless fidgeting made it challenging, but I can say that I came, I saw, I conquered!!
Teaching this past year in China has been an amazing experience for so many reasons, but these children are the main reason.
Grade 1 students ~ they range in age from 6 to 9. Sweet, innocent, beautiful children who embraced me from day one, who weren’t shy to come up and hug me or hold my hand while walking down the halls of Livon. Who would see me and yell out my name, so I would wave back or say hello. Who would walk by a classroom when I was teaching and wave and say hello.
These are the kids who grabbed on to me, showed me their love for me and found their way into my heart forever.
Twelve different grade 1 classes a week, with forty students in each class ~ I may not know all of their English names, but I know all their faces. I will miss seeing them every day once I leave. I hope they will miss me a little bit before their new teacher starts in the next semester. I hope a part of them will remember “Teacher Louisa” or “Teacher Lulu”, because she will forever remember them.
An extraverted protagonist. Sounds interesting right?? I recently did a personality test and my results show that I am an extraverted protagonist. A diplomat People’s Master. It all sounds very confusing. It was something a close friend thought I would find interesting. And I did!!
It showed me results that definitely resonated with me. All but one section definitely is my personality. And it also showed me some ways to strengthen my weaknesses. Things I will definitely start to do!
So why am I writing about this here? Really, who cares about someone else’s results of a personality test?
I am not writing about this to share my results. No. I am writing about how personality traits can make us stronger or weaker as we grow older and explore our self-worth.
When I was younger, I was very shy. I did well in school but kept to myself a lot. As I went through many struggles in my adult life, my self-esteem grew stronger, I became more assertive and my personality changed. I became the person I am today – in my eyes, I am a strong, self-assured woman who can do anything she wants and be a success at whatever comes my way.
Traveling has changed me. Seeing different cultures and dealing with situations I never would have had to in Canada have made me humble.
We take for granted so many things in life. So many of us want material things (and I am not saying anything against that – it’s just not for me), but living in northern China has made me aware of so many struggles these people have on a daily basis that are beyond their control. Living in the conditions they do have made them stronger than any other culture I have seen so far.
While my complaints of China are many, the strength and perseverance of these people is truly admirable.
So like the title says, whatever you are be a good one. If you are a neighbour, be a good one. A mother, a daughter, a teacher, whatever it is you are – strive to be a good one. The people here in Changchun have shown me that, despite the conditions they live in, they take it in stride and they are the best they can be. Their personalities shine through. I will take away from this chapter in my life the strength I have seen of the Chinese people. And I am now, and forever will be, a better person because of it.
Regrets, I’ve had a few… words from a great and memorable song. My way ~ the way I choose to live my life.
Do you have regrets in your life? Is there something that you wish you could go back in your life and change?
I have regrets. Less than I used to but I still have regrets. There are times that I think maybe I would go back in time and change things, but then would I be where I am today? Not likely.
I truly believe that everything in our life happens for a reason, and that we meet certain people who are only in our life for a short time but have the biggest impact on us. Do I regret that this person is no longer in my life? No because I know the time we had together helped me grow into the woman I am today.
So don’t go through life with too many regrets. Be grateful for everything you have. Life is too short to have too many regrets.
And remember what Frank said ~ I did it my way!!
Growing up in a small Ontario city, one dreams of having the chance to see and maybe even live in exciting cities of the world. But how many of us actually get to do that? I am sure people would be surprised to hear that many of us do!
I am one of those people. I grew up in Welland, Ontario ~ a small industrial city in Southern Ontario, close to Niagara Falls. I enjoyed growing up there. I had lots of friends, school was fun for the most part, but then I turned 16 and I started dreaming of moving away. Toronto and New York City were the big cities that I wanted to see and live in!
I did end up moving to Toronto when I was 19. I stayed a few years, moved to London, Ontario and got married. Yet I still had that itch to see more than Southern Ontario. I just could not see myself being brave enough to get out in the world.
A few years ( and a divorce) later found me and my daughter heading to New York City. One of my bucket list items came off my list!!
Single motherhood became my most important job then and so the bucket list had to wait.
A move to Calgary and discovering a new confidence in myself found me looking at European opportunities to work. A trip to Italy in April 2014 took another bucket list item off and added so many more to it!!! I knew I had the courage to make a move.
In November 2014, after quitting my job, I moved to Prague to start a new life. Teaching English was never on my bucket list but its enabled me to see London, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Dresden, and now China. And I have a career now ~ not just a job.
I loved growing up in Welland and I wouldn’t trade my memories of my childhood for anything, but I am so proud of myself to have made it as far in the world as I have. I can only hope that I inspire my children to live life with all their potential and to see just how far they can go, with hard work and a bucket list!!
Happy Birthday to me!!!
This is birthday number 3 for me traveling abroad, and my 52nd in this awesome world. It really has been an amazing journey, these 52 years, and while I know deep down that I am NOT middle aged (because, really, who lives to be 104 ~ not many of us!), I do not feel my age at all. And I attribute this to doing what I want and loving what I do!
I turned 50, a milestone birthday, in Prague, and while it was not exactly the day I had in mind, it was definitely memorable turning 50 in Europe! A weekend trip to Cesky Krumlov on my own was just what I needed after that monumental day.
At 51, I was on my way to Berlin for a short holiday to celebrate my birthday. I enjoyed celebrating on my own as it gave me a chance to reflect on my life, what I had endured and how it had turned out at the time. Celebrating one’s birthday may sound lonely but it really wasn’t. I was in an exciting European city, enjoying new sites and sounds and food. This was when I made the decision to make a change. China and other Asian countries were on my list but obviously China won. And while China can be challenging, I don’t regret it at all!
So now here I am, turning another year older in another country and it really is exciting! I have made many friends here who I know are going to be lifetime friends. I have discovered a side of me that I never would have found had I not jumped into this new life ~ that side being the incredible patience I have for teaching young children, and loving them all so much.
I don’t know where I will be next year to celebrate my 53rd birthday but no matter where I will be, you can be sure that I will make it the best day possible and that I will be grateful for being there!
We all have friends, near or far, that are dear to our heart. We have new friends we meet when we travel and live abroad. We have old friends from another time in our life who we will keep in touch with on occasion. Then we have our best friends, who, no matter the distance, can make us feel like we are sitting together, having a coffee and exchanging our days even when we are an ocean away.
I have many friends all over the world ~ in China, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Australia, South Korea, Great Britain. And of course in North America, particularly Canada. I have met many of my friends from traveling and on the internet. But there is one friend who is my dearest friend and, thanks to the internet, we have become closer than I ever thought possible.
We were best friends in high school, inseparable. College came and we remained close until men entered our lives and we both moved to different areas of Ontario, and started our families. We kept in touch for a few years but, as it happens as we marry and move around, we drifted apart.
Fast forward to my 40th birthday and my mother invited her to my party. We reconnected and kept in touch through social media but not as often as I had hoped.
Last summer, when I headed to Canada for a visit before coming to China, we spent an afternoon together. And something clicked. I think all the struggles we had during those years had kept us from being close. However, we matured and with that, came a brand new light in our friendship.
Since then, we talk almost every day, sharing what is going on in our lives, counseling each other with hard decision making, offering comfort in a difficult time when needed. I value her friendship now more than ever. I look forward to hearing her voice messages, to hear what’s happening in her life and sharing my life with her.
Friendship doesn’t have to be face to face to be close. Thanks to social media, we are all just a click away. And I am so grateful for that day last summer that reconnected me with such a great friend.
We should value all the friendships we have. Life is too short not to!
This is my final blog for 2016! I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!
This has been an incredible year for me. I started 2016 in Ostrava, Czech Republic with new friends, I traveled to London, Berlin, Paris, back to Canada for 5 weeks and now I’m in China. Every city I went to made me realize that I am just one small person in this world. But I know I can make a difference to some and I am determined to do that!
I am so grateful that I have had such amazing adventures in 2016, and 2017 is going to be just as exciting because I am going to make it as exciting as I can!
I have made so many friends across this big beautiful world and I cannot wait to meet more amazing people.
I wish everyone a truly happy new year. Here’s to 2017!! Make it as exciting as you can!!
Louise's Loves - Travel, Cooking, Photography, Thoughts 