Two, two, and two!
On December 10, 2019 by Keturah Haferkamp….two weeks
Two weeks left here at SCUT. I already finished one class–a group of Phd students that meets only 1 time fortnightly. The others will follow.
This Monday I checked my class schedule for Spring 2020 and was glad to see that all my classes are full. Full semester schedule full of new students.
Seeing my rosters ahead of time always awakens anticipation in my heart. Right now they are just names to me, but in a short while those names will have faces. I wonder who they are, what our days will be like (besides cold!). I enjoy being a teacher very much and look forward to meeting them.
I have the middle experience between sleep and awake or where East meets West or when the last year gives way to New Year….the end of one semester is eaten by the next. One roster consumes the previous one. One group has names while the other one has faces. One has potential while the other has achievements. One I have hopes for and the other I have a heart for. One group will be my students while one group is already mine. And so the cycle continues. What is makes way for what will be. Every new semester, a tale of two rosters.
….by two rosters
🍁🍁🍁
For now we’re packing the last several months into about 10 days of goodbyes. Friendships form fast and deep in international spaces–we seem to have grown our friends by double just in the last few weeks. Our family finds much joy in the eager spirit that’s unique to expat communities. We get to sit and linger and talk for hours, eating together, walking, enduring together and finding fullness of heart and mind. We thrive on the depth. Expats are the world’s best kept secret.
This time has been enriching for each one of us. By far the relationships are the best of all the treasures we’ll take as souvenirs from our time in China. We are deeply grateful for friendship.
My kids are telling me that they want to stay here but also go home at the same time! They’ve also doubled their friend base…actually maybe tripled it. …There will be tears. I feel the same way. It has been a good experience for us and we will surely miss it. But we also miss home, and the snow and our church and our magnificent Christmas tree!
🐁🐁🐁
…by two places
I’m thinking about how to incorporate what I’ve learned from my time at SCUT into a stronger syllabus for next semester and beyond. I’ve done lots of reading, logged lots of teaching hours, done lots of listening to my SCUT colleagues discuss resources, student engagement, etc. I have learned much from their insight and experience. Lots to think about….
Just now, I have two roster sets. I have my heart in two continents. And I have two weeks left to go.
Two, two and two!
❄❄❄