Starting a New Chapter

Life has given me many amazing opportunities and taught me valuable lessons. Some of those lessons are obvious like don’t stick peas up your nose to get your mom’s attention, licking a metal pole during a Wisconsin winter is just asking for trouble, and allowing your overfed yellow lab to sleep on your bed may cause a lack of sleep. The opportunities that have presented themselves to me have been living and gallivanting throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia in the last 10 years. The past two years I have been able to not only work in a new country, but also be completely immersed in the local culture. Working at The Linden Centre has been one of my best decisions I have ever made. Every day in a new adventure. I can walk out my door and hike in the mountains, visit temples, go antique hunting, and interact with the locals.

The more you read, the more things you will know… I love the smell of books. Old and tattered, crisp and new, and the ones that are from the library. In college, my friends could always find me surrounded by a stack of books at Walter Library. I have always been a sucker for diving head first into education and learning a new subject. While working at the Linden Centre, I no longer had to read books to learn about the new culture around me, I was fully immersed in it. I still ask questions about the things that I see in the street. I’ve learned to always share what I know and always ask when I don’t know. What is stinky tofu? Where can I go hiking in the mountains?

The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go… Throughout these two years in China, I have challenged myself in more ways than I could have imagined. I knew from the start that there would be a culture shock involved with adjusting to a new environment, but I also tried to find things that would challenge me on a daily basis. Adding a leadership course to the boys’ curriculum and taking Chinese language classes were just the beginning. If someone would have asked me three years ago where I would be living in the next five years, I probably wouldn’t have said China. This amazing opportunity from the Lindens luckily landed right in my lap and I took it as not only a job opportunity, but also another way to learn and grow outside of the usual classroom setting.

As Dr. Seuss once said,“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” With the knowledge that I have passed on and have been given throughout the last two years, it’s time for me to leave China with the sunshine warming my shoulders as I look to new opportunities. With all of the things that I have learned while tutoring at the Linden Centre, I have truly found my passion in life, which is community outreach and teaching children. I am not ending the era of my traveling days, but only starting a new chapter in the world of teaching.

For anyone excited to know more about this opportunity or know of anyone who would be interested in traveling across the big blue ocean to have the opportunity to tutor two bright boys, travel throughout China and Southeast Asia, and fully immerse themselves in a new culture, feel free to contact me via email ([email protected]). We are currently looking for a fun, adventurous, and knowledgeable person to tutor at the Linden Centre starting in October 2011.