We have been back in the US for almost a month now. In that time I have experienced a whirlwind of emotions. Our relationships with family and friends have been like a favorite pair of jeans, so comfortable that you can wait to get back into them. In this month, I have been able to spend more time with my parents than I was able to when we lived in Batesburg. So many of our friends have taken us to dinner, invited us over, or come to where we are staying. In so many ways we are made to feel at home. Then there are days when I feel as if we have stepped through some sort of looking glass, into a world where things are not quite the same as they have always been, into a world where things are just slightly out of sync. When things are this way, I often look around to see if I can catch a glimpse of the fleeting tail of the March Hare or the Cheshire grin of a cat perched in a tree. I remember how I used to fit in perfectly. I knew my place in all settings, and I didn’t have to struggle for integration. We stepped out of that life, though, and having gotten off that merry-go-round, you can’t just jump right back on. In every country there is a rhythm to life, an ebb and flow that you get accustomed to with the passage of time. Eight months and eight thousand miles have gotten me acclimated to a different rhythm. I guess I am experiencing a kind of cultural jet lag. Where it takes a week or two to get over real jet lag, I don’t know how long this will last. I do know, however, since we are planning on going back to China, we are still only on the outside looking in.
These feelings don’t last too long because usually someone does something to reach out and pull us in. Our first week back, our friend Chuck, had us out to his place on the lake. Two weeks ago, Amanda and I celebrated our thirteenth wedding anniversary. To celebrate it with us, my parents, her parents, and our close friends Mark and Sharon and Mike and Jeanie all took us out for nice dinners. Our friends Mike and Kelli even put us up in a hotel for the weekend. At a big three day event that was held in Columbia, we could barely walk around without friends coming up to us and welcoming us back with open arms. Then just two days ago, the Smith family had a big cookout at their place so that we could be with more friends. The love and acceptance has truly been overwhelming. - Frank
Cheshire Cat: If I were looking for a white rabbit, I'd ask the Mad Hatter.
Alice: The Mad Hatter? Oh, no no no...
Cheshire Cat: Or, you could ask the March Hare, in that direction.
Alice: Oh, thank you. I think I'll see him...
Cheshire Cat: Of course, he's mad, too.
Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.
Cheshire Cat: Oh, you can't help that. Most everyone's mad here. [laughs maniacally; starts to disappear]
Cheshire Cat: You may have noticed that I'm not all there myself
One of the things that I find absolutely amazing is the fact that we were able to find work, when so many others have been unable to. Not only that, but we are doing the same thing that we did in China. We are teaching English. In our class, we have students from Mexico, Russia, Guatemala, and Turkey. We have really enjoyed teaching adults, instead of the children that we usually teach. We enjoy both groups but this has given us a different set of challenges, and we have had to come up with other methods of teaching. We have been asked many times "How can you teach English to someone when you don't speak their language"? Well, the methodology that we use is based on the way that children learn to speak. Our TESOL instructor holds to the belief that if the students are not having fun, then they are not learning, so we always administer a healthy helping of play in every class. It takes energy, imagination, and a lot of repetition, but we have seen results. I wish someone would use these methods to teach me Chinese. -Frank
