When we started school a few weeks ago, we knew that this would be a busy semester. The official count is in – I have 175 students enrolled in my four different classes. Here’s a photo of one of my International Business classes during a trading exercise:
It will take a lot of work to get to know them all, but it is well worth it. In addition to scheduled lunches and twice-weekly English corners at our apartment, we try to get out and do things together with students. Here’s a group shot from a hike that we took last Thursday on the local mountain trails (I probably should have been standing on the downhill end):
Unless you’ve been to China, it’s really hard to get a true picture of how many students can be concentrated into such a small area. On the short walk to my school each day, I walk past one university, can see another one directly behind ours, and am a half-mile away from two more (maybe a total of 50,000 students). We took this shot as we walked by the main gate of the orthopedic university last week:
Of course, it helps when you pack 6 kids into each dormitory room! Just like American students, many of these kids are worried about what the future holds for them. During these uncertain times, it’s good to know the One who holds the future.
Dad, you are such an american giant! How big are those dorms to hold 6 students? I hope not the same size as the ones here!