The Upside of the Downside

We've had a Chinese calligraphy class, these past two mornings, with an older woman who is a retired teacher and well-known artist (to check that fact I asked my counselor who confirmed it). Although an atmosphere similar to a high-school cafeteria again pervaded the classroom, I was able to get a lot out of these past two classes, and this woman took notice.

On Monday, I sat in the front of the room and tried to imagine what sort of things were about to occur this day. When it became clear that Miss Ro was to be our teacher, I gave her my full attention and waited patiently for her to begin. The same could not be said for others in the room, but they are not really the point of this story. Throughout the two-hour class, I remained attentive, interested and respectful and Ro Lao Shi took note of that.

Today, a Tuesday, we again had Miss Ro to teach us. I sat in the back (I don't know why), but, when she arrived, Miss Ro called me to sit in the front. I'm glad I did. As if the fact that she recognized my interest wasn't enough, during the break she wrote for me a sentence that meant something along the lines of "Studying language is a small thing, but it makes the world so much bigger."

Anyway, somebody did notice the effort I put into learning about Chinese/Taiwanese culture, and that's the upside of the downside.