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Students of the English Language often times ask me, "How do I study English well?" My response to this is always: SPEAK ENGLISH MUCH! Some will justify forsaking the speaking part of learning English by focusing only on getting a high mark so they can pass the exam. However, what they do not realize is that, in the one exercise of SPEAKING English, they are using many facets of the language. They are using: vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and comprehension. Not only that, SPEAKING English is fun! When a student begins to realize that they can use the language that they are learning to communicate to others, they begin gaining confidence about using it. The more their confidence grows, the more they use the language. As you can see, a "snowball effect" is created. Once this happens, WOW, the only thing we can do as teachers is to get out of their way; Nothing will stop them from learning. YES the other subjects are important, but, ESL students, please don't ever forsake SPEAKING ENGLISH.

Several Month's ago, we went with our friend back to her village to "play." While we were there, we saw the most delicious looking turkeys. It is our tradition to eat turkey for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. So, we asked the villagers if they would want to sell them to us. Since they agreed, we asked them to continue to raise them for us there at the village. The weekend before Thanksgiving, we returned to the village and brought the turkeys to Kunming. Although Dee is getting much braver, no, she did not kill these birds. We took them to the nearby market where they were butchered and plucked very cheap. Dee froze one of them for Christmas and cooked the other for Thanksgiving. Because she only has a toaster oven to cook in, she had to cut the bird in half and we ate one half on Thanksgiving day and the other half the next day. Even though the Coale family lives and works in China, we still celebrate our countries traditions of being Thankful.

Village life is difficult. However, there are some benefits. One cannot adequately explain the quiet peacefulness experienced in a village where no machines, fill the air with their man-made sounds. There is also a camaraderie amongst the people and they watch out for each other. It is truly communal living. The people share with each other. After dinner, some neighbors will come by and just sit and talk. Yes, there is little else to do, but this lends to people getting closer with each other. Speaking of dinner, some of the most delicious meals a person can experience in China, are in villages. For the most part, the villagers are kind and considerate. They are hospitable and take seriously the task of hosting their guests. To have a true, "down to earth," experience, don't hesitate to accept an invitation to visit a village.