i like public speaking

So I realized that I forgot to mention something that I did last week (November 8) that is actually pretty cool. Remember how I had to give a speech on collegiate a cappella music in front of several hundred students from the local division of Shanghai High School? Well, one of my bosses called me a couple weeks ago, telling me that one of her former professors who teaches at China Eastern University of Science and Technology had contacted her, asking for SHSID to provide them with a speaker for their foreign language week events. My boss told me that she and the other boss thought that I would be the best choice, and offered me the opportunity to do it. The thing that really won me over? Getting paid 400 rmb ($50) to deliver a one-hour speech on something that I love (and better yet, a speech I had already given).

So I ended up going last wednesday to CEUTS, and spoke to a crowd of maybe 150. Everyone was SO nice to me and I even made them laugh a few times while I was speaking, something I was actually pretty proud of considering the language barrier. They really seemed to enjoy the music, and asked me questions for over a half an hour after my lecture. They also asked me, as my 5th graders had, whether or not I was famous in America. A couple of guys wanted a picture taken with me after, and it was overall a really awesome experience. Who knew that singing a cappella would actually pay off financially someday? HA.

Anyway, here are two pictures that the professor sent me. The first one is of me and her, and the second is from the back of the room while I was giving my lecture.