Gloria

Gloria has really taken charge of her own faith. Before she left for winter break, she was unsure if she was truly a believer. I asked her to share her experience with me. I came to the conclusion that she was a genuine believer. I also asked her the "3 Questions" I'm kind of known for asking students.

1. Do you believe you have sin? Do you believe you have offended God and disobeyed Him?
2. Do you believe Jesus can erase your sin through his life and death? Do you want his forgiveness to cover you?
3. Do you want to commit your life to God and be faithful to Him always and only?

She answered yes to all the questions. And was kind of shocked that how easy the whole process was. I told her if she believed all those things to be true and wanted to commit her life to Jesus, then all she had to do was believe it in her heart and affirm it with her mouth. She did. She's been blossoming ever since!

(Gloria is on the right. Yvonne is on the left.)

Starting in March, she and others have been reading James together. Coco asked, "How can God make us stronger and give us peace?" Gloria wanted to share a personal story.

Gloria shared about how she always felt guilty going to the temple and bowing down when she believed in God. She never felt like she could stand up to her parents. After she made her confession verbally, she felt much more strong spiritually. She told us how she stood up to her parents over the winter break. She felt great peace and power. Like she could do anything! She feels stronger and stronger each day. She was not disrespectful, but lovingly said no, that she would not go to the temple and bow down. She would not burn incense. She would not give offerings.

Listening to her story and her witness to the other students almost brought me to tears. She has such a sweet soul. She's so gentle and kind. She could've been disowned from her parents, it could've caused a lot of drama and conflict. But she stood her ground. This is a great difficulty for many brothers and sisters in Asia. Many festivals and holidays are focused around the afterlife and worshiping ancestors or temple activities.

I'm excited to continually be a part of Gloria’s growth and just watch her blossom. I'm not doing anything. It's all the Spirit alive inside her.

Mandy

This story is from a couple weeks ago with my Sunday afternoon Bible study with Mandy and Sherry. Mandy is on the left and Sherry is on the right.

Sherry asked the question "What do Christians think about luck?"

I said Christians don't believe in luck. Or they shouldn't. They believe everything is God's plan. Whether it is good or bad. Some people might say that Bryant and I meeting was lucky; being in the right place at the right time. But I believe it was God's plan that we should meet each other.

Then Mandy asked if she could share a personal story. I said of course.

But before I tell you a story she told I should give you a little background. There are more than 55 people groups in China. Meaning they're all Chinese, but there of a different ethnic backgrounds. Their language, culture, customs festivals, and traditions all differ a little bit. There are two groups that seemingly always are having conflict. Xinjiang people and Han people. Xinjiang people are closer to Muslim culture than Chinese culture. Han Chinese people are the majority in China.

On to Mandy. She told us about how she was traveling to another city with her father. They were in the train station. Literally the next day there was a riot where Xinjiang people killed many Han. In that exact same train station at the exact same place that her and her father where the previous day. She also told Sherry and I that every time she travels she prays that Father would keep her safe. She went on to explain and express that she doesn't think it's just luck that they weren't killed. She doesn't think it's just luck that they were there the day before not the day of this riot. She is sure and confident that that was the Lord's providence that they were kept safe.

It is always fun and such a tremendous joy to see fellow sisters share their own life experiences with non-believers!

Keep praying for Sherry. When I asked her this week, "If there is a scale of 1 to 10. One is you don't believe there is a god. And Jesus wasn't real. Ten is you believe fully in the Bible. Where are you?"

She said, "Five. I think I am a five. I don't know what I think yet."

Kids say the darnedest things...

As my taxi pulled in to my city, I had a rush of excitement in my heart. Familiar signs, characters, places and people were all around. Ok. In a city of 1.5 million, I wasn't really seeing familiar faces. But the swarm of Asians was comforting. I was anxious to be in my apartment again and unpack.

My super awesome friend, Sarah was waiting for me. She's the sweetest. She had bought me dinner and a drink and anxiously awaited stories and hugs. We chatted and caught up as I scrambled around unpacking.

After she left, I settled into the silence around me. After two months in America, it was soothing to hear...nothing. My apartment felt SO small after living in the giant homes of the USA. I decided to cuddle with my beloved Edith to detox from the stress, anxiety and hours of traveling (33 hours to be exact). I popped in The Avengers and tried my darnedest to pay attention and stay awake. I told myself I would stay up until 9. Half way through the movie I told myself 8:30. By 7:45, I was hoping to make it just 15 more minutes. But at 8:00 pm, I was cozy in my bed and fell asleep before Harry even blow up his aunt Margaret (I fall asleep to Harry Potter movies, among others).

Monday morning was rough. I took an hour nap, even though it went against all my jet-lagging beliefs. I knew I needed some Z's if I was going to make it through afternoon classes. And boy am I glad I did.

Here are gems from Q&A time this week talking about American taboo topics: politics, religion and sex.

Is sex great?
Have you had sex before?
Did your boyfriend pressure you to have sex?
How did you become a Christian?
Are there special requirements to pray?
Do you think anything happened between Obama and Beyoncé?
Are there witches in America?
Have you even been in a demonstration?
Have you been in the White House?
How would you feel if your husband has a lot of sex experience?
Will you have sex before marriage?
Have you ever supported a war?
How do you feel about America monitoring other countries' Internet?

I'm also teaching an English freshman class. Here are some quality comments from them:

You like cooking. I like eating.
I am so lucky to have a beautiful, cute, elegant teacher.
I hope we can be friends.
Modern Family is one of my favorite shows.
Do you have QQ?
Are you married?
What about a boyfriend?
Do you want to find a Chinese husband?

Week 2

It's Week 2, here on the East Side. The semester doesn't really feel like it's in full swing, but I'm sure by next month, I'll be ready for a little break.

In my normal oral English classes, we are learning a couple of new vocab words and idioms. As well as having a discussion on questions students brought to class. So, far, these are some of the questions we've discussed:

What is your opinion on Syria?
Why do you prefer tattoos? (Just to clarify, I never said I PREFERRED tattoos. I have one, so I must prefer them, right?)
Are you for or against Cosplay? (I had to look that one up!)
Is it possible for you to marry and Chinese man and live in China forever?
What was your impression of Chinese before coming to America?
How do you deal with your meals on the weekend? Eat at a restaurant or cook at home?
What do you do when you face difficulties?
What kind of music do you like?
Do you like horror movies?
How many kids do you want to have? (They were shocked by my answer, 3 or 4.)

In the Bible class, we are discussing the creation of humankind. We also talked about human freedom, peace and love. When I asked "What is freedom?" This is what I got:

To be an individual
To have choose your own personality
To do what you want
To say what you want
To be able to NOT do something
Financial independence

When I asked, "Can you have rules and freedom?" There was a resounding YES. They thought there is no way to have a concept of freedom if there are no rules.

We also discussed how there is risk in love. You can give your love to another person, but there is a chance that they will reject that love and not return love to you. Rejection can be painful. They could easily understand this idea of freedom and rules and love and risk. When I related that to man and God, it was a little more difficult to accept.

Why would God give them a rule?
Why would God test man like that?

Overall, good discussion and good questions. What a good time.

Love hurts...

Do you know that song, "Love hurts! Love blah!" Ok, well, I can't remember the rest, but I think it true in the Christ-sense.

I find myself crying over my students. They have never hit me, throw things at me, or called me names. Ok, on occasion I have heard them say I'm factor my clothes are weird. But I can handle that. My love for them goes deeper than any other love of this world and lasts longer than any other thing man has made. That includes Twinkies.

But we I feel afflicted over my love for them, I remember Christ. How he loved. How he loves now. How he continued to love in and after opposition. How he loved when that love was not returned. How he loved enduring more persecution or resistance than I have ever experienced.

My difficulties and tribulations in loving my students are nothing compared to what he experiences in loving lowly humans. I was never flogged, beaten or nailed to a cross. So, I continue in love...even if it hurts.

It's like Christmas!

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to hand out 50 Bible to my students. I teach 6 Oral English classes. But every once in a while, I get to teach a "Bible and Christanity" class. It took some convincing, but I finally got my supervisor to give me the okay to let students BORROW Bibles IF I could find some place to purchase them. He wasn't convinced I could find a place that had that many or that I had the funds to buy them. But the Lord always provides... So, some friends helped me ordered them online. The students were excited for their new books. And I prayed that unkind eyes would be sheilded from what I was doing. So, when I handed them out, it felt like Christmas to me. Giving them a great gift.

September 18th

To me, today is like any other day...But for my Asian World, it's a day to remember... I'm not politically savvy. I tend to avoid the topic with my students and nationals here. However, the unavoidable topic is all around. Japan and China have never gotten along. Or at least not fot the past +50 years. Many students have expressed their hatred of Japan. Most of the time, I let them vent and express their opinions freely. I encourage them to forgive Japan and move on. This hate in their hearts is only hurting them. I think some of them are truly hurt by Japan's actions. Others have simply taken on the opinions of those around them. And VERY few have moved on and ask others to do so as well. The video is full of photos of peaceful protesters, posters on buildings, school property and cars. My limited reading ability lets me know that China loves its homeland and doesn't seem to have a positive attitude towards Japan. Quotes from Students

"We show anger to express our love for our homeland."

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

"We should not beat someone if we are angry. But it is okay to talk badly about them. Japan can not here us. There are no Japanese here. We should not keep it in. We should let our anger out."

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians 4:25-27

"We would forgive, if they just apologize."

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:21-22 If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. Psalm 130:3-5

Not My Dish

A student/friend came over to make some banana bread. She's so great! So funny and sarcastic. I just love her.

Anyways, we were just chatting away and of course the topic came around to boys. There is one boy in particular that seems to have a lot of girl friends. I just had to ask if she thought he was cute or if she liked him.

"He's not my dish," she said.

"What?"

"He's not my dish. Do you know what I mean?"

"No. Do you mean, he's not your type, not your style?"

"Yes, it's what we say in our native language. I just translated it."

How funny is that to say, "he's not my dish" to describe a boy or girl that is not your type. Then I doubled checked with her the translation in the native language. It was even funnier.

Singles Day

November 11th is Singles Day here. For some it's quite a "sad" day. Mostly girls are pretty dramatic about still being single. Some people embrace their sadness. My day started with class at 8 AM. However, my Friday classes are my favorites. The personalities in those classes are just plain fun.

Just before dismissing the class, Blaire asked me what my plans for the day were. I told her lunch and some parties in the evening. She curiously asked who I was going to lunch with. I told her no one. She said she hopes next year, I'll have someone to be with me. I giggled inside and smiled politely.

Off I went to lunch when I walked into this...



That's right. Their signs say free hugs. I asked if I could take a photo and then asked what they were doing. They said they wanted to give free hugs to anyone who was feeling sad today because of Singles Day. I inquired whether or not others were going to join them. Sure enough, more friends were going to join them. I received/gave a hug from each girl and felt like my day was just going splendidly!!!

Lunch was DELICIOUS. It was eggs and tomato on top of clay pot cooked rice. Just come and try some because words cannot express it well.

The afternoon was spent reading and miscellaneous work. Then the 11-11-11 Party. Some friend here have their parents visiting and they are really into the number 11. Like seriously. So, we had some calzones and one-shaped cookies. HOWEVER, I had a birthday party to go to.

The Tuesday before Will had shared with the class about his past, uneventful, slightly horrific birthdays. I was so sad for him. He said he just wanted his birthday to fade away. So, the class decided he should celebrate anyways. And I just had to make him a cake because his sob story got me. When I arrived at KTV (KTV is karaoke), I presented the cake to him. He was so excited!!! I thought he might cry. Seriously, then he told me he had never had cake on him birthday before. I was REALLY glad I had made one. I sang a little Avril in true KTV style and then it was cake time. People here will SAY they don't like sweet things...



But I think the above photo is how they really feel.

After that, I returned to the 11-11-11 Party for a game of Boxers or Briefs. Or Boxers and Briefs? Anyways, it's a super fun game with lots of laughs.

In the end, it was a pretty swell day :)

Students 2011

Students 2011 from michelle on Vimeo.

Class Quotes

New students and a whole bunch of new memories...

Americans eat sandwiches every day. Like the TV show Friends.

Student-Americans are ego.
Me-Do you mean they have a big ego?
Student-I mean they only think about themselves. They are selfish.

Student-I know someone who is suitable for you. I have a friend. He is 24. He is single. He is a Christian.
Me-Thank you for the suggestion.

Where are you from? Your earrings look like they are from India.

Can you teach me how to make friends?

I want to learn how to be optimistic.

Do you remember me? You told me I looked old.

Can you tell us about Western Kentucky University?

I want to know why the Apple president resigned.

Can you dance?

Can you teach me how to make-up?

Male Student-Can you tell the girls not to be shy with the boys?

My name is Will. Like where there is a will there is a way.

Haiby-My name is Haiby.
Angie-Strange name.

Why is the divorce rate in America so high?

You should smile more. It will make us feel more relaxed.

Your eyes are very big.

Your nose is very high.

Your smile is so kind and warm.

First Day of School

School is wonderful. Sometimes during the semester I think, "Is this my life? Semester after semester...Over and over again...?" And I doubt what I am doing. I doubt why I am here and where I am. I remember my desire to be famous or important and have some sort of status in the world. I want to leave my mark. I want to be known in the world.

But then I remember my call to be minial. To be normal. To be regular. My call to a mundane and repeitious life. When you first read that, it might seem bothersome or sad. But I see the beauty in it. Dying to myself and my own selfish desires for something higher.

Who says I can't have an impact as a teacher? Who says I can't have influence? Who says I can't be used in the smallest of ways? Who says what I do is insignificant? Who says what I do is small and useless? Well, the Lord stomps out those lies.

Monday Classes from michelle on Vimeo.

Leaves

Leaves is one of my most extraordinary students. He's opinionated and likes to share those opinions. He energetic and movie savy. He's taller than the average Asian and toothpick skinny.

At the beginning of the year, he openly rejected and criticized my belief and devotion to God. I wasn't surprised and tried my best to not take it personally. He thought the whole idea of a divine, all-knowing, all-powerful Creator was "stupid and unbelieveable." But when my students say something is unbelieveable, they don't mean awesome or amazing, but impossible or not realistic.

He challenged me in the Bible class I taught. He openly questioned me in Oral English class when talking about Christmas or Easter. But over the semester, his questions became more curious and softer. They were no longer threatening or trying to de-bunk my beliefs.

One eventful class, Leaves actually publicly humiliated me. He yelled at me and said that he nor the class needed me. Unfortunately, in my own anger and annoyance, I yelled back and told him not to come to class, if he didn't like the way I taught. A week later, I asked to talk to him outside for a moment. Before I could apologize for losing my temper, he asked if he could say something. He apologized for what he said and did. He then told me he lost his temper with me because of what his instructor did. I told him I forgave him and it was all okay. I told him I was sorry for losing my temper and yelling at him. I also reminded him I am more than willing to help him in any way and he can always talk to me.

The more time passed, the softer his heart got.

Some friends came to visit and I knew it would be a really good chance for him to hear some stuff from a guy's perspective. And he did. Some of my friends got to share with him a lot. The day before my friends left, he decided to believe in God. It was all quite beautiful.

Today, was his Oral English final. He was in a group with three girls. But before we started he asked if he could say something. He first was super grateful for being allowed to meet my friends. He then apologized for ridiculing me about my beliefs. He also he said he learned a lot about his lack of religious freedom.

I let him know I forgave him and was grateful that he could spend time with my friends.

I'm not sure I expressed the joy of my heart in all this. But it has been a beautiful journey of friendship and forgiveness along with a revelation of God the Creator.

Love and Lies

Love

This week in class we discussed Love Languages. If you haven't heard of these before, I'll fill you in real quick. Some guy wrote this book about how people show and feel love through different things...

Gifts
Quality Time
Physical Touch
Acts of Service
Words of Affirmation


Most students say they SHOW love with Acts of Service. Which I'm not entirely surprised. This culture tends to be more indirect than direct. But I would have thought Physical Touch would be high on the list. But it's not.

However, a surprising number said that they FEEL loved with Words of Affirmation and Quality Time. They thought Gifts are too materialistic and Acts of Service is more spiritual.

There was also a consensus that Gifts are the least important to everyone.

...and Lies

If the teacher was not looking, would you give the answer to a test to your friend?

Yes, they need my help. And I don't think it's cheating. I should help them.

Cheating is subjective. Or if they don't know, it's not cheating.

If 10 people were beating up 1 person, what would you do?

Call the police.
I don't think this would happen.
I should take care for my own safety first. I'm not strong enough to stop them all.

I must think about me first. Our world is good. It's not my responsibility to stop bad things from happening.

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?

I would give everyone money.
I would make sure everyone has food.

The things of this world are more important. Physical need comes before spiritual need.

If you were God and had a message for your people or wanted to tell them about you, how would you do it?

I wouldn't do anything.
I would send some angels.
I would make them believe me.
I would use the media, like the internet, TV to tell them.

God is distant. God is a tyrant. God doesn't care. God is limited.

what a sweet sunday?

I'm not a morning person at all. But when it comes to my students, I'll do just about anything for them. So, when Kathy asked to meet me at 9 this past Sunday morning, I agreed. She's a sweet girl. She is one of my students more interested in stories about Christmas and Easter than the typical student. On several occasions she has told me she believes in God. But what does that mean?

I've always encouraged her to call me and we could meet and talk because I can't just talk freely about that in my classroom. As we began to talk, she asked all the perfect questions.

"When did you believe in God?"
"How long did it take you to believe?"
"What are the qualifications for someone who believes?"

I told her my story in short and explained she couldn't just rely on a good feeling to believe because our hearts change, even though God doesn't. And I gave her a quick explanation about what a person should believe if they truly believe. She asked how I know what God wants me to do. We talked about boys and marriage. We talked about the purpose and goal of life. We talked about dreams and ambitions. We ended up talking for 2 deliciously, heart-fulfilling hours.

In the end, we decided to study together every Saturday morning. I think she might genuinely believe, but doesn't know exactly what she believes. I think she understands the very basics, but I want to teach her how to read her Bible and understand it. I'm very excited about it all.

Learning. . .part 2

If you have not read Teaching...part 1, then go do that before you read this post.

One week later.

My roommate Jessica, gave me a little pep talk and helped me sort things out before class the next day. I was planning on talking to the student in private about his actions. The student I'm referring to is to the one that yelled at me. I was hoping for the best case, but also prepared for the worst case. I was going to ask him if there was anything wrong. Then apologize for losing my temper. But there has to be punishment. I was planning on making him give a speech about respecting authority. Here's what happened.

I'm waiting for class almost to begin. I ask to talk to him out in the hall. He starts out by saying he is glad I asked him to talk because he wanted to talk too. I let him talk first. He SINCERELY apologizes for yelling at me and talking to me the way he did. He was having a bad day and the teacher from the class that he has before mine made him very angry. The teacher is supposed to help them study for a big test, but instead told them to study on their own and played games on his computer. He apologized again.

A wave of peace filled me. I was so grateful that God had orchestrated things this way. I forgave him and told him if he ever wants to talk, I'm always willing to listen. If he ever needs help, he can call or email me. And if he's having a bad day, just don't come to class or take it out on me. And I apologized for yelling at him and losing my temper, explaining that no matter what students do, I need to respect them if I expect them to respect me.

End Story.

Writing Class.

The class is busy writing cover letters while I grade old argument papers. The three girls come up to my desk. The ones with the 0s and comments to come see me after class. They hand in their cover letters. The first thing one of the girls says is, "We know." I don't even get to put on my teacher voice or face. Just in case, we are not on the same page, I ask them if they know why I wanted to talk to them. They all nod with these goofy smiles. I ask them why. "Because this is not our work," the spokesgirl says. I sigh and nod. I then proceed to tell them the bad new. They get 0s and cannot make it up. This is not okay to do in America or anywhere. They must do their own work. It is NOT okay to cheat in my class. I will not tolerate it. Those goofy smiles have fallen from their faces and next comes the plea. The spokesgirl asks if they can re-do it and bring it next time. She ask twice I think. Both times get a no. Then panic is on her face. I assure her they will not fail the class. They have other assignments that can improve their grade. But if they continue to cheat, they will fail. I tell them I am here to help and all they have to do is ask. If they needed more time, they should have asked. They explain they were just lazy. They promise not to do it again.

Lesson Learned.

I think God prefers it when we go to Him with our mistakes. When we seek Him out to ask forgiveness. He is more than willing to give grace and mercy, but we have to acknowledge and lay our faults before Him.

Teaching...part 1

The last couple of weeks I had to do some. . .disciplining in my classes. I guess, that's what you could call it. I try to keep my posts short, but the detail are kind of important.

About two weeks ago, a student in my oral English class kind of lashed out at me. At the beginning of class, I had kind of called him out about speaking not speaking English in class. I told him and the people around him that they would have to split up, hoping that they would speak more English. They are all proficient in English, so I wasn't really sure why they did that. Anyway, at the end of the class, I announced that the class was going to prepare for the following week. I encouraged them to be as creative as possible and we could do anything, absolutely anything, as long as we all spoke in English. Most of that class seemed excited. Except this one student. He then began to question me about what was my role, what was I going to do while they taught the class, why was I going to even be here, if they were going to teach the class, they didn't need me.

It's really difficult not to take things personally. I explained that this was a one time thing. I wanted to test their creativity. I wanted to give them freedom too because they don't always like what I plan for class. And I told him I would fully participate in whatever they planned. He just wouldn't have it. He started yelling at me. My heart quickly sank and rose. I was sad and hurt that I was being attacked so directly and completely humiliated and embarrassed. But then my temper kicked in. I didn't yell, but I raised my voice unneccessarily. I told him that he was not required to come to class and that my rules from the beginning of the semester were still true; if you don't want to be here or participate, don't come. I told him not to come next time if he didn't want to. It didn't matter to me. He kept saying they didn't need me. I kept telling him, this was a one time thing. They other students were clearly uncomfortable with it all and tried to get him to stop yelling. The bell rang and I told them I would see them next week.

Pause-Break in that story...

Last week in my writing class I assigned a How To paper. The students were supposed to write directions about how to make something or cook something. This week, I graded them and came across three exceptionally good How To papers. As you might have guessed, the three girls that had turned them in usually have less than average writing. Cheaters!!! I hate giving 0s. I really really do. But I had told myself that if I caught cheaters they would get a 0. So, I just wrote a note on the grading sheet that they needed to come see me after class.

Tune in later to hear what happened...

ya got me!

Well, today is April Fool's Day. I was unaware that people here or I guess students would participate in such a day. So, I had some questions about what kind of pranks I have done in the past and if I had any ideas about what they could do.

Anyways, class ended early. Most of the class went outside to hang out before their next class. I went to go buy a water bottle. I saw them bunched up under a light fixture down the hall. I decided to take a gander at what they were taking photos of and looking at.

As I walk up, I say, "What are you looking at?" and look up.

They all snicker.

I shush them because a door to a class in session is open and I can see the teacher eyeing us.

They point up, saying, "Look! Look!"

I look again, seeing nothing, but really thinking I'm missing it. I look at the other side and still nothing. So, I ask again what they are looking at. And that is when I'm 99% sure that they are fooling me!!!!

They bust out in laughter and I shush them and shake my fist at them!!! I know I've been pranked. Then I scurry off as the other teacher approaches to possible rebuke the class for being too loud.

a heavy heart

This week in class we are doing some discussion questions. The students bring in topics and I choose a couple for us to talk about.

The hot topic was the earthquake in Japan. Which I figured would be a buzzin subject. However, my heart fell when I read how some of the questions were asked; Do you think Japan deserved the earthquake? Do you think it is right for people to think Japan deserved the earthquake? I know the people of this country don't typically like Japan because of their sour past, but my heart was crushed and I just wanted to cry. Students gasped when I read off some of the questions. And then I was quickly annoyed by their false innocence. I have previously had conversations with some students about Japan. And most of them have said, "We hate Japan because of what they did to us." But it seems so unreasonable. And when I joined in some discussions, I heard things like, "I don't think the people of Japan deserved it, but the country deserved it." But I was thinking, "The people are the nation! The nation is the people!!!"

It just made me sad.

On a higher note, I taught some girls how to use air quotes :)