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Spotlight

A Conversation with Mrs. Lu

Although she and her husband used to live in Beijing, Mrs. Veronica Lu, also known to her students as Yang Laoshi, recently moved to Dallas, Texas. This is her first year of teaching at TPS, and she teaches Chinese 1, Chinese 2, and Chinese 3.

Grace: Why did you first decide to teach at TPS?

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Mrs. Lu: A family at our church had kids that attended TPS classes. They were the ones who first introduced me to the school.  TPS happened to be hiring a Chinese teacher for the 2021-2022 school year, when I was job searching because my husband and I were moving back to America from China. I looked on the TPS website and saw the teacher bio for my former high school English teacher, Mrs. Yagel! It was a huge surprise! I messaged her and she said she really enjoyed teaching at TPS. I also feel like God led me to TPS for this year because I can teach at home and spend more time learning and building community at the seminary where my husband attends.

Grace: What made you decide to teach Chinese?

Mrs. Lu: I like learning languages and interacting with people so I decided to become a language teacher. Chinese was the foreign language that I was best at, so choosing to teach was a no-brainer. Additionally, learning Chinese has really deepened my understanding of my own cultural background and I like to share that with others.

Grace: What is your favorite and least favorite part about teaching Chinese?

Mrs. Lu: My favorite part is that when you start teaching someone Chinese, it’s like you’re sharing with them a secret code to unlock a totally new way of understanding the world, which is really awesome! When you see them learning and picking it up, it’s a great feeling because they’re really accomplishing something that is quite a difficult task. The hardest part is related to the best

part – since learning Chinese is really difficult, it can be a struggle for everyone to keep up. I feel like there’s a really hard balance between going fast enough to keep people interested and not going so fast that it becomes too overwhelming.

Grace: What do you think is the most difficult part of learning Chinese?

Mrs. Lu: Memorizing how to write the characters is probably the hardest part. With the use of technology, even native-Chinese speakers forget how to write certain characters at times. The second hardest is probably speaking with correct tones.

Grace: What is your favorite Bible verse?

Mrs. Lu: Colossians 1:17: “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (NIV)

Grace: Where did you grow up? Do you like the current place you are living in more, or your childhood home more?

Mrs. Lu: I grew up in Richmond, VA. I miss the beautiful seasons there. I feel like I haven’t been in Dallas long enough to compare it to Richmond yet. One thing that I don’t like about Dallas is that people drive way too fast here.

Grace: What is a random fun fact about you?

Mrs. Lu: I learned how to bike at age 20 while studying abroad.

Grace: What is your favorite cuisine/food?

Mrs. Lu: I love all Asian food, but my favorite is probably Vietnamese. Getting Vietnamese food always improves my mood!

Grace: What is something you wish everyone could do?

Mrs. Lu: If you can, live abroad! Learning to live in a new culture can teach us so much about ourselves, others, and God.

Grace: What’s your favorite Thanksgiving tradition? What do you usually do for Thanksgiving, and what are you thankful for this year?

Mrs. Lu: My family never really celebrated traditional Thanksgiving but we did normally cook something fancy on that day like lobster or steak. I don’t actually like turkey that much because turkey is not a common ingredient in Asian cuisine. My first Thanksgiving in China we went to Subway to get turkey subs because we couldn’t find turkey anywhere else! I am thankful for my husband who consistently helps me to be a more loving, Christ-honoring person, and I am thankful that God has brought people into my life who inspire

me to pray more and ask me really reflective questions – people like my counselor, my mentor, and my small group leaders. Having a bigger support system is new for me this season and it’s been beautifully helpful.

Grace: Again, thank you so much for your time, and have a great Thanksgiving!

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