The school has an amazing staff, and many of the teachers are Chinese females who are about my age. They have been great to me, helping me avoid cultural blunders and doing a wonderful job inviting me into their city. Each night they have waited for me to finish teaching to walk with me part of the way home, even when it might be out of their way.
Saturday night, as we were walking, I went out on a limb and invited myself to dinner with one the teachers, Lilyth. She was meeting some people at a local eatery, and being a person who needs friends in Guiyang, I asked if I could join.
She said of course I could come, and I had a wonderful time spending time with her friends. They were so gracious to me, buying my dinner (we ate fish and vegetables) and taking me to visit a historic tower that rests on Guiyang's lake.
I'm humbled by Chinese hospitality, that the Aston teachers and Lylith's friends would go out of their way to make me feel welcome. I keep waiting to experience homesickness, to feel sad that I'm so far away from my community in Texas. But it's hard to feel lonely when you receive nothing but kindness from the people who surround you, even when you've known them less than a week.
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