I have been working at italki for a year and I have taught students from 7 countries so far. I know that whenever I get a message from italki on my phone, that is when I meet with students from different countries over the internet. Having taken 16 classes so far, the number of hours is still small, but supporting people from different time zones is truly an unforgettable experience. Some of them are from higher education institutions in China; some are bank executives from the UK who want to come to China to teach English; some are professional teachers from Thailand and Spain, some are from Australia who want to rediscover their memories in China because they spent time there as children; some are businessmen from Italy. There are also students from Zhejiang and Wuhan, China.
We discuss Chinese together, talk about food, epidemics, and even history, biology, math, English, and cross-cultural communication. I also plan to talk about design and presentations. I've also started my own podcast in English and Chinese, and I can talk about how to be a hero in ordinary life. The podcast has people listening from all over the world.
I'm happy that I can help them travel to China; I'm happy that I can help them make complicated things simple; I'm happy that I've received payments for their classes in the mail, and that they can arrive in RMB, which is not much right now, but I know it's real and valid. I am happy that they have given me many good comments and I know that they have understood me and have experienced the joy that I bring to them. This has inspired me to work harder to do a better job of paying for knowledge and making my courses accessible to more students around the world.