About food: I came to China with the mentality that if it didn't look or smell like foods that I am accustomed to, such as beef, chicken, or fish, there wouldn't be any chances of me downing it. However, it was a totally different ball game the moment I stepped foot off of the plane. I'm here to tell you "don't knock it until you try it"! In Chengdu, the food is nothing less than diverse, and you are bound to enjoy something. Within seven days of being in Chengdu, I tasted foods that I had never seen or smelled before, and guess what? Every new dish that I tried was quite delicious.

体验川菜：我来中国之前曾在心里对自己说：“如果那儿的吃的闻起来或尝起来都跟我平时吃惯了的如牛肉、鸡肉或鱼肉之类的食物不一样，那我绝对不会在那儿待下去。”但是，当我走下飞机踏上这个城市土地的那一刻，我就知道我在这里的生活将是一种全新的美好体验。我现在要告诉你们的是：“在真正尝试过了之前，千万不要急于下结论。”成都有各式各样的美食佳肴。在成都你绝对会喜欢上这里的美食。来到成都还不到7天，我就品尝到了各种我从未见过、从未闻到过的美味。你知道吗，我在这里品尝的每一种新的菜肴都是那么的味美可口。

About teaching: I wanted to experience teaching in a classroom setting, and boy have I gotten the ultimate teaching experience here in Chengdu, China. Here at the “Home of the Panda,” I teach high school students at Qingsu Vocational School. I am an English teacher, and the main goal is to get the students to understand, write, and speak in English. I also educate them on American customs, holidays, current events, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences such as studying abroad. This experience is totally phenomenal to me, in that I am the person who teaches Chinese students a new language. Some of their first impressions and perspectives on America will be based off of my professionalism and kindness towards them. Teaching high school students is pretty much the job that I always dreamed of, but it is no piece of cake.

一直以来我都希望有朝一日能在教室里教书，而这一天竟然在成都美国海外留学中心的安排下实现了！现在，在这个著名的熊猫故乡，我来到了青苏职业中专学校，成为了一名英语教师. 我的工作是英语的听说写，同时也要教授美国风俗习惯，假日以及新闻和我那些一生只有一次的体验，比方说留学生活等。教一门外语对我真是一次非凡的经历，而我的职业素养以及对学生的友好态度，将影响到中国人对美国的第一印象以及看待美国的角度。虽然教英语是我的梦想，但做起来真不容易！

Getting 45 Chinese students to all participate in oral English activities can be seemingly as difficult as rocket science. Imagine more than half of the class sleeping, and how this alone affects the rest of the students, although they may want to actually learn English. And the other half are thinking that English is for dweebs, or that learning English may never benefit them. However, after a few weeks of experiencing some of these difficulties, I came to the realization that candy is the biggest motivator for non-interested seeming high school students! I had finally realized that everyone needs motivation to pursue anything in life. And I can honestly say that after I introduced the candy as a prize, all of my students have been more enthusiastic than ever!

让45个中国学生都积极参与课堂口语活动简直难如登天。想象一下，半数以上的学生在教室里身不由己地睡觉，这对别的依旧保持清醒的学生是何等的打击？甚至也许会导致这部分学生同样失去学习的兴趣。可是！我在经过几个星期的琢磨和尝试以后，终于找到了窍门：对那些昏昏欲睡的高中生来说，糖果还是一个很好的激励！:) 由此，我也认识到，在每个人的生活中，每个人都需要一种鼓励从而去激发他们追梦的决心。事实证明，在我开始糖果政策以后，我的学生们的学习热情，真的高涨了呢。