It is interesting looking at old writings, especially ones dating back to 2011, which as of 2024, is fourteen years old. My first thought was: dear God – how young I was. The first time using this name was officially on October 25th, 2011, at midnight in Florida, USA, and midday in Guangzhou, China. Tumblr was my outlet at the time and it helped that I was also asked as part of my TEFL alumnae to write about my experience, hence I started writing.
“…Allow me to introduce myself： call me DJ[-] Laoshi. Thanks to choices made in life and some hand of the Cosmos – I landed [halfway] across the world. I have been teaching English for the last three going four years and I hope one day to work on a thesis dealing with the cultural issues of teaching English or learning a new language, but whatever the universe decides. [My first] teaching job was in Jamaica teaching Venezuelans English, then Colombia for one and a half years then Jamaica again for the Venezuelan program for a year. Anything else you need to know ask… I am now teaching English in Guangzhou, China. Guangzhou is the third largest city in China [with] a population of thirteen million people. It is colossal and according to other Chinese is one of the more Western cities in China. I [heard] that if you travel outside of this city within Mainland China, it is as if you step back in time. It has beautiful places, parks, mountains[,] and many shopping malls. It’s not bad once you understand the rhythm of the city. It reminds me of Bogota but maybe fifty times bigger…I’m here in Shayuan with my friend in a café called Babylon – [a] funny name for a place where I am a stranger. [I have been] here [for] two months and… [it’s] only now that I am starting to change my perspective… about life in China.
How is life in China? Life in China has always been the same, or rather it makes its changes whether I am seeing it or not. My perspective about China is better, especially now that I am making friends from the local population and finding places that have familiar reminders of belonging somewhere for example my family and my life in Tunja, Colombia… Someone said “All cultures are the same just that the order of the elements [is] different,” and China is no different. Granted I was very caught up with the illusion of what seemed to be so outrageously important – the difference in food, what expectations I held based on the media. [You] just have to take it for what it is – there are good things and bad things…. well I talk too much… to cater to some friends in Latin [America], I will alternate between Spanish and English. I will try to be as honest and unbiased as I can but we are human and [this blog will inevitably] show preference to my perspective… Well[,] I hope to blog again and hope that you read along…”
I started writing three months after being in China. It was a daunting adjustment in life and work. I had bluffed my way into teaching children after three years of teaching adults; genuinely believing that I would be able to manage the jump to teaching fourth-grade to sixth-grade students. My present self would want to slap my past self in the head. But the drive to travel and to show that my choices were valid, led to a very interesting change in circumstances. I remember out of sheer desperation to manage the students, the students would do karaoke with their favorite song “Baby” by Justin Bieber just so that they could learn English, and have fun while at the same time having a manageable class (documented October 25th, 2011).
Despite the chaos, the students took a liking to me. I have not been on Tumblr in a long time, but for some reason, there was a problem with an old post from October 28th, 2011:
“…My Flowers and chocolate!!! One of my students – such a sweetheart, he always [gives] me things. He is in grade [five or six]. Today the class asked me to sing Justin Beiber and they loved it. He wrote ‘flower’ on [one of] the tissue papers and ran up and gave me. ^_^ Awwwww and I also got chocolate (actual chocolate hahahaha Snickers chocolate to be specific)… so I got my flowers and I am going to hide my chocolate :). Children are children anywhere no matter [what] country or difference in culture. 🙂 Thank you…”
I remembered this being such a sweet gesture that for a long time, I kept the tissue that had flower written on it. Years later, with fourteen years of teaching under my belt, this memory is one that is dear to me.
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