Grow where you are planted.

The ‘garden’ that is just outside my apartment is a round bit of earth where branches and twigs manage to defy all laws of the gardening gods and grow. Rain seldom comes to this part of the planet (it has rained twice since I have been here), and we don't have the luxury of the climate of the BC growth to ensure lush green growth abounds.But I have watched this ‘garden’ grow and come to life over the past few weeks.I think the trees just believe that they can grow and blossom and share their beauty regardless. I think the trees simply want to grow where they are planted.China is a country of contrasts. We have the very rich and the very poor. We have breathtaking beauty and distressing pollution; we have years of history in the midst of a burgeoning and modern economy . This is a country where many internet sites are blocked, food is different, language challenging and cultural traditions difficult to understand and make sense of. Us foreign teachers could easily say, “This is too difficult! I can’t access Facebook, and I can’t update my Twitter, and I can’t even get onto Google, and I can’t live here!”Or, we can say, “Let’s grow where we are planted”. Let’s learn about the families that send their children to our International School. Let’s understand that they wish for their children to study abroad, because they know 80% of the students return to China after their education is complete, and bring modern thinking and a Western education. The combination of a strong foundation in Maths and Sciences provided by a Chinese education, with the creative and innovative thinking so vital to the BC education system, will allow these students to return to China poised to solve some real issues facing this country.Let's try the food, and meet the people, and learn the language, and not always compare it to what we might think of as a better life elsewhere;let's grow where we are planted.