The faculty who will be teaching the next course in our program have arrived! They spent their first few days in downtown Shanghai and yesterday afternoon arrived here in the Jiading district (still part of Shanghai, but on the outskirts by some distance).
As soon as we picked them up they started asking questions about the area, how things work, what are things like, what it’s like navigating a city where everything is in Chinese (not in Chinese and English as you’ll find in the city center), what are the students like, what is the Internet access like, and so on. All of the same questions Marilyn & I had when we arrived.
In talking with them, I realized how quickly we acquire and absorb information in order to successfully navigate a new place. In one of my first posts from here I commented on how unfamiliar everything felt and how I would need to re-weave a web of support that fits this environment. What amazes me is how fast I’ve woven that web in just a few weeks. There’s still so much to learn, but I’ve made great progress and can find my way around in spite of the language barriers.
It really is disconcerting to be in a place where nothing at all feels familiar: the smells, sounds, food, language, and all of the visual cues that are part of our daily lives. But humans are resilient and we adapt. We may long for the places we call home, but we also find a way to make this new place our home (albeit a temporary one).
Watching my colleagues as they adapt helps me see how much effort it takes to make a transition to a new place — an effort we may not always fully understand when we’re just looking at ourselves. And, of course, the irony of traveling is that just about the time you’re starting to feel comfortable, it’s time to go home. I’ll return home changed by this experience: a better teacher, a stronger student, and, ideally, a better global ambassador.
Teaching (and Learning) in Shanghai 