Becoming happier
施比受更幸福

[Photos appear at the bottom!]

I was a university sophomore (second-year student) when I started going with the Good Neighbor Club to help teach at Tiannan School. At first I didn’t have much time to participate regularly, but I remember the first time I walked into Tiannan I felt the place was out of the ordinary. The principal, in particular, made a deep impression on me. She is a woman getting on in years, but without giving off any impression of physical weakness; on the contrary, she gave us volunteer teachers an energetic welcome. And the students she admits to her school all have something in common – they are the children of laborers.

去天南中学做义教的时候是大二了，那时还要去连心社做志愿者，所以去天南的次数很少，但第一次踏入这个学校我就有一种不同的感觉，校长给我留下了很深的印 象。上了年纪的她根本不像一般的老人那样体弱多病，反而很有精神，我们受到了热情的款待。虽然叫天南中学，它接收的学生从小学到初三参差不齐，主要是本地 和外地的民工子女。

The first time I formally taught the Tiannan students, I team-taught with an American teacher named Andrew. I was already aware that there is a big difference between the way Chinese and non-Chinese teach class, but still I felt strongly influenced by Andrew’s teaching, especially his sense of humor and his sense of responsibility. After I got back home that day, I reflected that my teaching method lacked flexibility, so I decided to go very often to Tiannan and teach alongside the foreign teachers. 
第一次给天南的孩子正式上课是和Andrew一起合作，我知道中国老师与外国老师在教学上有很大差异，但我被Andrew认真负责与诙谐感染了。那天回来之后我认真地反思了自己的教学方式与模式真的缺乏灵活性，所以决定要多多向到天南义教的外国朋友学习。

From them I learned not only teaching methods, but also patience. They don’t casually scold children who make mistakes, but encourage the children to improve themselves and have self-confidence. They are not put off by the children’s dirty faces and clothes, but warmly shake their hands, embrace them, take pictures with them, and play games with them, all of which mean something very important to the children of Tiannan School. Like their parents, the children live on the margins of society, so any love we can show them is welcome.
处了教学之外，我在他们身上还学到了耐心，他们不随便惩罚犯错误的孩子，而是鼓励他们主动改正，消除他们的自卑心理，他们不嫌他们脏脏的脸庞与衣着，和他 们亲切地握手拥抱、拍照、玩耍，这一举一动对天南的孩子们是有很重要的意义的。和他们的父母一样，他们同样生活在社会的边缘，缺少应有的关爱，所以我们所 做的远远不够。

Whenever I went to Tiannan I went with half my mind preoccupied with whether I had enough time keep up with my own schoolwork, let alone take time out to teach children. But when you walk into the classroom and find the crookedly-written words “Welcome Teacher” on the blackboard, all your heart's burdens disappear. As I teach the children I also learn, not only from my fellow teachers but also from the children. By necessity, the children have learned to take care of themselves – how to groom their hair, how to wash their clothes, how to walk the long route home from school for lunch -- and how to get back. I often observed the students helping a teacher repair books, which is something I don’t know how to do. I have even seen them use a tricycle to help a teacher move things. Of course they also sometimes misbehave or speak rudely, but when you see in their eyes how much they desire to learn, be loved, and find their way to a happy life, you lose the courage to rebuke them.
每次因为学业压力而烦恼，带着沉重的心情去义教时，只要看到黑板上歪歪扭扭地写着“欢迎老师”，烦恼就被抛之脑后了。在给孩子上课的过程也是我们学习的过 程，不仅是和一起合作的老师学习，也是在向学生学习。这些孩子由于生活所迫，他们早早地学会了照顾自己，怎么梳头，洗衣服，每天放学走半个小时回家吃饭再 返回学校上课。在连心社的时候，我曾经看到孩子在帮助老师修书，那是我不会做的事，他们还蹬三轮车帮忙运东西。有时他们也有很不好的行为，比如对老师不礼 貌，不讲卫生等，但当你看到他们眼中的那种求知的欲望以及对爱、对美好生活的向往，你便没有勇气再去责怪。

The last day of school this past June, Qianli (千里, a Japanese teacher) cried, and so did I. Compared with her and other teachers, I invested so little; for an entire year, they went rain or shine to Tiannan, without ever uttering a complaint. This fills me with humility.
最后一次去义教的时候，千里哭了，我也是，比起他们来，我付出的实在太少了，一年来他们风雨无阻地为天南付出，没有任何抱怨，这一点我自愧不如。

That last day of school, we knew most of the foreign teachers would not be coming back. The principal could hardly bring herself to let us walk out the gate. It was a sad moment for all of us. But I believe, though Qianli and other foreign teachers are gone, they have inspired us to take up a great responsibility.
校长的依依不舍让大家心里很难过，但我相信，千里他们走后，我们对义教会更加负责。

That day Qianli and Andrew hosted a party for us at their house. We all talked and enjoyed ourselves as if we had known each other for years. The Thai teachers introduced us to their schoolmates who will come next year, so that we can invite them to join us. This moved me very much. Qianli and Andrew hosted us warmly and made us all feel at home.
到千里家做客那天很开心，大家似乎认识了很久，有很多话要说，泰国的老师一直在向我们介绍她下一年会加入义教的朋友，这让我很感动。千里和Andrew和热情让每一个人心里都暖暖的。

When it was time to go Andrew cried. None of us knew what to do. The time we spent together was not long, but that time tied us together. Though we’re all used to people spending their time for themselves, we have found a kind of happiness in spending time for others.
走的时候Andrew哭了，这让大家有点不知所措，其实大家相处的时间并不多，但却有一种动西把大家系在一起，我们大家都习惯了别人为自己付出，所以当你能为别人做些事情的时候你会觉得也是一种幸福。