知足常乐
“Contentment brings Happiness”
So, here is something that I would like to jot down for myself to read one day.
I have been coughing for about a month plus, so far it is the second longest track record of coughing that I have had. The first still the one I had when I was in Beijing, due to polluted air. Now, it is the same case. However, since I can't sleep well at night because of the cough and I am done playing doctor for myself I dragged myself to the doctor (OH yeah... No one else can drag me and force me to do it.)
The result after the examination is rather as expected. Of course, I am going in with a cough and I am coming out with a cough medicine, on top of that, I am being prescribed with antihistamine called: Alergine cetirizine. Just hope that it clears the itchiness in the throat.
That's not the thing that I would like to remind myself (Although, it might come handy one day).
It is about life in general.
I thought I use my time really well lately. I teach and enjoy the current classes that I am handling and just considering another training for hotel, and around the house, surprisingly I still manage to do the house chores really well. For both work outside and inside, I got a good weekend off. On top of the regular cooking for dinner, I successfully copied the recipe of donut and martabak (4 times) that I found on Instagram. Somebody else is liking it and I am proud. =D For my family, they know, when I was in high school, I don't even dare to touch the stove. During college time, a male flat-mate taught me how to make fried rice. Now, I am cooking for another human being, not super good, but things get better with time. You tell me how can I not proud of that? Often times, we just have to impress ourselves, not others! =D
However, among those activities that have kept me quite exhausted by the end of the day and always happy when it comes to adventurous or even super lazy weekend, I got bored sometimes. I always think that I can do more with what I have. I got excited whenever my partner comes home and discuss his work with me at home. Although I can't help much, the discussion gets my brain going. Especially now that he has already moved to S&M department, more things that I can relate to. I am grateful of him for doing that to me. In that process, there is a certain part of me that always think that I can do more than what I am already doing right now. I am better than what I am right now. Maybe that's true and maybe that's not.
However, my interaction with a doctor today made me learn to be more content. Since I choose teaching Mandarin as something I would like to do (I got an offer to go back to Hospitality industry because as the Chinese market is growing here in Bali, the human resource for that market is insufficient. I decline it because I know I am not cut for a big corporation, too much politics at all levels, my greatest weakness), I might as well give my 100% in doing things that I do. In my life, I have always had done the same. In teaching, some people here told me to lower my expectation and just do enough because we don't expect people here to be as good as the Medanese in term of picking up Chinese language. Lucky that I am stubborn. I do lower my expectation, by slowing down the pace that I teach and the amount of material that I give, but never my view towards my students. Do just enough is not something I would like to do. I like to do my best, because I believe that certain people will be benefited from my effort. What is the greatest satisfaction than seeing our effort paid off, right? I see some students get interested in Chinese and looking forward to the class and actually can start forming sentences with whatever they 'catch' for the past 2,5 months.
Today, just before I went to the doctor, I was teaching my playgroup class. Children in playgroup are not expected to recognize characters yet. However, I believe if we can make it fun, why not. Just now, out of nowhere a 4 year old kid who had just started learning Mandarin (and whose mother tongue is no where close to Chinese language) is reading the Chinese characters to me and know what they mean! To be fair , that kid is naughtily smart. However, if from the beginning I have decided to go with the culture here to give just enough, just go by the textbook (which sucks), it might not happen. No one will enjoy the benefit to know that Chinese can be fun, and I will never get to feel proud, excited and happy, like what I am feeling now. I am so proud of her!!! Ecstatic!!!
Going back to the doctor, the doctor asked me if my work require me to be out a lot and asked what I do for a living. When I told her what I did, she gets so excited to know more about Mandarin and she makes me feel that I have got an exciting life teaching Mandarin. While most of us (including me) think that doctor is a profession that is not everyone who wants to be, can be. Because of the requirement of the brain 'capacity', which I believe I don't have. Also, things that they do are so 'technical' (I don't even know the word to describe it), that I think it is something prestigious.
However, seeing her eyes lighted up discussing Mandarin with me (the light that I don't see when I first walked in and when we discussed about my cough. To think about it, maybe Chinese language is more interesting than my cough. haha), it reminds me to be just grateful, content and give my 100% in everything that I do now and every opportunity that knocks.
For all of us who find that we are stuck and want to do just more of many OTHER things, because we are bored, ask ourselves if we have given our 100% in the moment, in things we do, to people around us and to improve what we are doing right now. Then, we might know what to do next.
As for me, I would like to be better in Mandarin, MUCH Better. Test can only grade us to a certain level. My HSK 6 certification means nothing to me now, because I know although that is the highest level for foreigners, but I think I still have so MUCH room to improve, sooooo much more.
Love Life,
Lin ^ ^
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