10 things I never thought I'd be grateful for

5. I’m grateful to have a shower in my apartment.

Bless my students’ hearts. They don’t have showers in their dorms and they have to walk outside to a separate building, sometimes a couple blocks away, in order to take a shower. Sure, that’s great in the summer…but when it’s 10 degree Celsius or colder here? Not so pleasant to be wandering around with wet hair. Let’s be real, if I had to walk outside to take a shower in winter it would just not happen. I’d be dousing on the perfume instead.

6. I’m grateful for American breakfasts.

Give me waffles, French toast, muffins, coffee cake, smoothies, bacon, and cold cereal for any meal and I will be a happy woman. I’m a huge breakfast lover. I never realized what a glorious breakfast tradition we have in America until I moved overseas. Sorry China, as much as I love your food I just can’t do dumplings and noodles at 8 am.

7. I’m grateful for uncensored internet.

This one's self-explanatory. I know you're all right there with me.

8. I’m grateful for the Chinese value of collectivism.

Being raised as an American, the value of independence was drilled into my head from before I could walk. I’m a huge advocate of independence (after all, I live alone in a foreign country…) but one problem with growing up in an individualistic culture is that I’m not very good at asking for or accepting help. I feel like I should be able to accomplish everything by myself. Chinese children are raised with a more collectivist mindset, which to me translates to mean “we all work together to take care of each other.” Any time I find myself lost or otherwise unable to communicate what I want, I can be certain that within five minutes I will have a whole crowd of well-meaning Chinese people surrounding me and trying to decipher my subpar Mandarin. If I need help of any sort, I know I have a phone full of contacts who would willingly drop what they are doing to assist me. I’ve been the recipient of so much selfless service here!

9. I’m grateful to have a sense of purpose in my life.

One of the things that shocked me most about my students was how few of them seem to have long-term goals. Very few of them have a sense of purpose or any idea of what they’re working towards. From what I’ve observed, what drives many of them is their desire to make money so that they can buy more things. In my time here, I’ve tried to help them see that there is a lot more to life than buying things.

10. I’m grateful for clean air.

My body has never been so happy as it was when I went home for the summer and got to soak in some pure Washington air. Having a cough for 9 months straight because the air you breathe is so polluted? Not pleasant. Luckily I seem to be doing a bit better this time around...

Aldous Huxley said, "Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted." Living in China has made me realize just how many things I DID take for granted! I hope for the rest of my life that every time I show up to a public restroom and find it stocked with toilet paper it reminds me just how much I have to be grateful for.

The original blog is at: http://blog.chinadaily.com.cn/blog-2067524-32842.html