July 14 | Wuhu, Anhui

11:20 PM - Woke up in Beijing, going to bed in Wuhu and am absolutely on cloud nine. Guess we were really saving the best for last. Pretty sure everyone’s jaw hit the ground when we pulled up to ACCSC (Anhui Concord College of Sino Canada). Stellar campus. Olympic sized swimming pool, clock tower, water fountains, gorgeous new buildings… everything is perfect. From those who went last year, we heard we don’t need to share a bedroom anymore, but when we got here, I don’t think any of us expected to each get our own apartment suite. My suite has two separate bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and two balconies… unnecessary for one person, but I am not even close to complaining. Seeing that we booked a hostel for Shanghai, it’ll be nice to get one last lapse of luxury before we re-do HK style for the last leg of the trip haha. All the girls are close by too, so I foresee us continuing our new tradition of kimono parties from Beijing ;).

Tomorrow is the beginning of the end as it will be the first day of the last conference. It’s not even our first day of school plus we’re the teachers yet I always feel a tinge of nervousness for the start of each conference! You never know what to expect – tomorrow we all get a new group of kids and fittingly, Wuhu has the largest group of conference goers to-date… in a way, Shenzhen and Beijing were practice runs for this massive one of over 60 people! Praying to the heavens that there will be some angels in the group (flashback to Shenzhen… it almost made me never want to have kids). Each school has its own unique qualities that makes it charming in such different ways – Shenzhen was like a vacation resort, Beijing was more of a small, intimate experience and I am assuming that what makes Wuhu special is its grandeur. Excited to see what tomorrow brings – lao shur Minh is ready to do this one more time ;) (translation: teacher).

It is astonishing how it’s almost midnight and I’m wide-awake, seeing we flew today By the way, Beijing airport is absolutely gorgeous. You know I have a thing for airports and Pearson was always the Holy Grail of airports. Sorry, Pearson. You have been dethroned. Actually, come to think of it, it’s amazing how none of us have hit rock bottom or burnt out yet considering how much we’ve done in combination with the lack of sleep. I can honestly say I can get used to this go-go lifestyle – this experience has changed my entire outlook on ‘productivity’ as it is mindboggling how much you can do in 3 weeks, but you can go 3 weeks back home with accomplishing nothing close to significant. Going back to Canada, I definitely want to upkeep this ‘milking your time’ attitude – some things will definitely change for the better.

Lasting words: be present. If you’re always searching and looking for more, you will always miss all the great things that are currently on your plate. It took me awhile (aka 2 weeks into the trip) for it to finally hit me that I am in China. So trying to remind myself every single day that there is no better time than here and now.