Feeling Special

The picture on the left shows the YX team from our school, getting ready to board the Shanghai-HK flight at the end of the tour -- or more precisely, most of the team, since 3 members of our team had to return to HK right after the camp and couldn't make it to Shanghai.

Anyway, the picture doesn't really have anything to do with the contents of this post. But just thought I'd share it.

I went to church today for the first time in 4 weeks -- I somehow managed to be out of town for 4 consecutive Sundays in July. It was really good to be there again -- I hadn't quite realized just how much I had missed it. The thing that really touched me though was that I managed to have a really good conversation with the new pastor. That may seem like it's nothing -- it's just a conversation -- but honestly, he made me feel that what I was saying was worth listening to and important (when even I don't know how important what I was saying really was!) At one point, one of the elders came up and asked him something and the pastor told the guy that he'd get back to him, and he continued talking with me like nothing had happened! I was very surprised and touched -- after all, I am really not anybody important like the elders, and he's here spending time talking with me!

What that made me really think about is how we interact with our students, especially myself, in particular. I have an "open-door policy" in theory, but there are times when I am so busy and caught up with work and administration that I have am often too busy for students who come and see me, even if my door happens to be open. In fact, there have been times last year when students came to see me for help just as I was about to rush off to something, and I had no choice (I didn't feel like I could reschedule the meeting and be confident that I would have time for them then) but to tell them to walk with me to wherever I was going, and I would talk with them on the way. Geez, I wonder how important *that* must have made them feel (turns sarcasm off).

I think I have a lot to learn still about being a good teacher and listener.