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I took the longest Flight of my LIFE to get here!! I flew over the North Pole. I looked for Santa Clause but did not see any reindeer or sleds rather lots of broken ice that was completely white. Once I touched ground here in China I immediately recognized a total change. I myself have never been a "tree hugger". My oh My has my life changed and I will recycle...recycle...recycle...for the rest of my LIFE!!!! I never littered but when others did I did not pay to much attention to it. Besides culture shock I am going through environmental shock and would loved to pass around green bins, blue bins, and a litter stick to help clean up. My new saying for 2012 is..."Take nothing for granted enjoy the ability to breath in fresh air"....

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Today faculty at BRS, NCSU faculty and students and UNC faculty convened at the National Hotel to meet the Governor of North Carolina, Bev Perdue. It was eventful to see and tour where State and Government officials stay when they come to China. The landscape was gorgeous!!!! Camera lights were flashing everywhere and smiles filled the rooms. After conversing with the faculty and officials it became evident that there is a desire to strengthen/improve educational classrooms around the globe.

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What an inspiring class I had today! The topic of the class discussion today was, Learning disabilities. The students were given this journal topic: Have you been in a class where a peer had a learning disability? If so, how did it affect you or your teacher? Usually, the students quickly begin writing but today they were slow to respond. I began to ask the students why they had not started writing and they all responded by saying that they had no experiences. Immediately this blew me away!!! Initially I thought that it was a language barrier and began to explain what it means to have a learning disability. The students knew what it was and further explained that if a person has a learning disability then they will not be seen in public. The students who have learning disabilities would be taught in the home or at a special facility. The discussion then began to shift to American laws/regulations in comparison to China's laws and regulations. The students were actively engaged in the conversation and were interested in learning more about how teachers and others prepare to work with people who have disabilities. At the close of class, one student shared with me the person who made the biggest impact on his life. That person was Nick Vujicic. He is a man born with no arms or legs but has the biggest smile I have ever seen. He goes around and does motivational speaking. His motto is "No Arms, No legs, No Worries"!!! Watching his inspirational video made my eyes water. It was a great class and the students are really opening up.

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ROASTED DUCK!!! I am a huge fan of chicken and beef but I do not particularly deviate from those two types of meats however, duck in China is a delicacy. Everyone that I talk to loves it!! We were treated for lunch today at a place that is known for its duck. I went in thinking that I am going to be starving after I leave because there is no way that I will enjoy duck. Before the meal began, we were told to wash our hands. This is a shock because each time I have been out no one a specifically to ld me to wash my hands, even though I always wash. As we returned to the table we were informed that we had to wash our hands because we would be eating with our hands. We had a duck eating lesson prior to the meal. Who knew??? There is an art to eating duck; 1) pick up the flat bread (looks like a taco shell) 2) pick up a piece of duck skin and dip it in sauce and lay it on the bread 3) pick up a piece of the duck meat and dip it in sauce and lay it on the bread 4) take a piece of celery and cucumber and place in the bread 5) roll the bread up, like a burrito 6) EAT!! The meal was great! I enjoyed eating the duck! Needless to say, I left lunch stuffed!!

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This is my last week at BRS. My students in my 12th grade class gave me a party and gifts. It was amazing to hear their thoughts and feedback from the last 5 weeks of working with them. The students worked diligently to put together a speech to share with me how much they enjoyed class and what an inspiration I was to them. What I shared with them was.... They were an inspiration to me!! I was extremely nervous about teaching 12th grade but once I conquered my nerves I really got in the swing of working with students. I love the younger children however the older students are very expressive and you have to pull out all of your "teacher tricks" in order to get them engaged in the lessons. I will truly miss all of the students but I plan to keep in contact with all of them through email. What a FAST 5 weeks it has been :)!!!!