A teacher touches tomorrow
By Enid Chen
Photos by Yao Fan

加拿大人Mike Selig, 来厦两年, 任教于WECL英语学院. 从教近四十年的他, 拥有丰富的教学经验. Mike热爱学生, 无私地给予, 就像是对待自己的孩子. 在厦的两年他与Common Talk结下了不解之缘. 他活跃的身影和乐观的生活态度给他的学生和Common Talk的编辑们留下了深刻印象. Mike Selig, a Canadian teacher at WECL English College for the past two years, is one of the most caring, talkative and self-giving foreigners I've ever met in Xiamen. He is leaving Xiamen for Canada today, and we all want to say, "We will miss you, Mike!"

A caring teacher

Mike Selig has been a teacher for 38 years. Being a firm believer in the philosophy that "Teachers teach today and they touch tomorrow," Mike is thus a very responsible and caring teacher. "The students don't care how much you know until they know how much you care," he beams.

Mike gets up at five o'clock every morning to answer emails from his former students seeking help and to prepare his daily lessons. "You must plan your work and then work your plans. I find I can get the work done most efficiently in the early morning when there is nobody around to bother me."

The early bird catches the worm, so the saying goes. Mike is usually among the earliest people to arrive at the office and the classroom. His hard work has paid off, as his class is well received by his students at WECL English College.

One of his students, Michael, commented, "I enjoy his class very much. He is a teacher with a broad band of knowledge. He can dash along on various topics, so that even the most introverted student never has to worry that they will have nothing to talk about. He is amazingly energetic for a person in his sixties. Though he gets up at five every morning, he never sits down in class and always hops."

"His voice is so sonorous that it can be easily heard in the neighboring classroom," his student, Stacey, added. "He makes his class lively. We all love him because he cares for us."

In retrospect, Mike says, he enjoyed his two years' teaching in Xiamen. "The students make it. I have had two good years because of them. The happiness lies in the fact that I see each student benefit from my class in some way."

A travel maniac

Mike likes traveling with his wife, Linda, whenever they have time. He carries a world map with him, and whenever he has been to a country, he draws a little flag on it. So far he has about 40 flags on his world map, and his footprints spread over every continent except Antarctica.

His two years in Xiamen afforded Mike the opportunity to explore Chinese cities and Southeast Asian countries. He spent weekends and longer holidays visiting 27 Chinese cities and several nearby countries.



"Traveling does not merely mean getting to a place; it means learning about different cultures and customs. Books provide only second-hand information about these things, whereas traveling is a first-hand experience with all your five senses. I walk in the streets of a new place seeing different people, hearing different languages, touching different things, smelling the fresh air, and tasting different foods. That's why I was in Africa, in the Middle East, and now in Xiamen." Mike reflected, "You learn to survive in a strange place. Students are surprised to learn I can survive happily anywhere though I don't speak any language other than English. The ways I communicate are simply smiles and body language."

Stories with Common Talk

As an English teacher for senior students at WECL English College, Mike began searching for an English newspaper that he could use in his classroom. He soon discovered Common Talk. One day, in December 2003, he came to Common Talk's office. From that day onward, an excellent working relationship was established between him and CT. Ever since then, Mike has been dropping in at CT's office almost every week to pick up some newspapers for his students and share his interesting stories with the staff, and sometimes beautiful poems or quotes. He brought his students to CT English corners, as well as to the movies, and had several of his students publish articles and movie reviews in Common Talk.

Later on, Mike became a consultant for Common Talk. He helped judge the annual writing contest, provided quotes, and wrote some articles. Yet, he never asked for a penny for his work for Common Talk. As the Chinese saying goes: "You give away the roses, but the fragrance remains in your hands." Mike could not agree more. "I always believe that if you help someone else, you help yourself," he said. "As a consultant for the staff, I am very pleased with the effort made each week to publish the only local English newspaper in Xiamen. By becoming involved in Common Talk, I know I have benefited, just as much as I hope the staff and the readers of Common Talk have. I will miss my weekly visits to chat and do some work with the Common Talk staff. I extend to the Chief Editor, Yayu, and all her staff my best wishes for continued success in the future."

Vocabulary
talkative 健谈的
beam 微笑
dash along 滔滔不绝
introverted 内向的
retrospect 回顾
continent 大洲
fragrance 芳香

My Xiamen
Photo & article by Yongwei



I am Nathan from America. I am studying at the Overseas Education College of Xiamen University. I want to be an English instructor in China in the future.

1. How long have you been in Xiamen?
I have been here for half a year.

2. What do you like best about life here?
At the very beginning, it was frustrating. Now I have learned the survival skills and ways to cope with cultural differences.

3. What's your major here? How do you like it?
I am studying Chinese, and I spend as much time as possible with my Chinese friends, sharing experiences with them. I love Chinese history a lot, though it's a little difficult.

4. How do you spend your spare time in Xiamen?
I spend a lot of time traveling alone, walking around Gulangyu, watching movies, playing cards and the guitar.

5. If there was one thing that you could change about Xiamen, what would that be?
What I really look for is more information in English about local culture. Common Talk is a window to foreigners.

6. What is your favorite dish?
Qingcai roupian (pork with vegetables) .

7. What do you think are the differences between your hometown and Xiamen?
Compared with my hometown, Xiamen is a nice island with a good environment, and there is more peace and unity here.

8. What's the last great book you read?
Julius Caesar by Shakespeare.

9. What is your favorite quotation or piece of advice?
Learn the difficult and experience the difference.