Hello world! Greet Xianfeng Mou’s International Students!

I taught Academic Composition to International undergrad students for two years from 2005 to 2006.

The teaching load was as usual, but we had lots of freedom. One huge advantage we had then was access to the Internet every class session, five days a week. I uploaded all the files online. There was a separate cabinet containing 15 laptops in the specially designated classroom.

Neither I nor my students perhaps realized how convenient that was. Until access to the Internet was no longer that easy to come by.

Besides that, I also liked other elements of the class. It was colorful. It was the only time that students have ever expressed openly, both in communication and performance, their appreciation of my teaching. That constitutes an integral part of one’s sense of well-being, I think. At least I think so.

They perhaps also produced the best papers among all the Composition students that have come my way, so far. But I have forgotten lots of things, though.

Lots of students come and go.

Later on I moved to teach language, to teach World Literature, back to teach academic composition again, to American undergrads.

I wonder whether the fact that I prefer International undergrads in my Composition is due to the fact that most of them are mature, generally speaking. Most of them are seasoned international travelers. And many have experienced quite a few cultures before they show up in my classroom. Most of them handle their life themselves. And it is not an easy task while they are living in a new culture completely by themselves. Basically they make most of their decisions. I would not picture the scenario where they call up their parents whenever a decision has to be made. Compared to their American same-age group, they tend to be more mature. Now I seldom remember I had ever had difficulty in managing the class.

Other student bodies give different feelings. After them, I have also experienced language students.

Funny thing is two students that I have taught English Composition to, also showed up in the language class. Both of them are good kids.

After language students I moved on to meet junior and senior students in a literature class. On the whole, they are good students. Some of them I really appreciate, from the instructor’s point of view. I do not think too much. Plus literature is more interesting than both composition and language. But the reading load was too heavy.

Right now I am back teaching English Composition to freshmen again. I am using a new approach. But somehow the general economic downturn has influenced everybody imperceptibly. I no longer apply the same strict rules as I used to before. Hope the class does not find out about this too soon.

Maybe I have aged considerably in my heart. Or so I feel. Lots of things I have learned to let it be. Occasionally I make fun of myself. Why so serious? Maybe it has always been that way, before and after. Only it feels different to me.

The cultural soil here is a little bit on the thin side. It tends to be rather hard too.

The primary reason I want to leave is my existence is too hard. I have never had such a hard time before, including my childhood in China’s eastern province. I was bent on leaving that place the first seventeen years of my life. So I must have known I would not remain there.

Hope my dogged determination will pay off again.

This is one of the few occasions that I actually smiled. I haven’t done that for quite some time.

I decide on that image for it contains water, music, science, and a smiling me. I must have been very happy that the ordeal finally finished. If the reader is in the know, it also shows a faint rainbow. I do not think anybody will detect it, though.