I have never realized how lucky I am simply because I can speak English. Many people around the world labor to learn the intricacies of English I never realized existed. The summer before senior year my church takes a team abroad to teach English and evangelize in the process. My parents are both educators, but the teaching blood does not run through my veins. For weeks leading up to the trip I felt nervous, unprepared, and under qualified, but I had some of my closest friends by my side. So when I got on the 12-hour plan ride I prepared for the worst but hoped for the best.

We had a teaching partner but due to a last minute location switch we had limited time to study the lesson plan and practice teaching. My partner, Ben, and I definitely could have prepared more but like the procrastinator I am, and always seem destined to be, we decided we could do some much needed practice on the plane. We had 12 hours right?

Well, we ended up not getting seats together and couldn’t work on our lesson at all during the plane ride. But no need to fear we were going to training we could work on it then, right? Of course there was assigned time to work on our lessons. But, we were in a foreign country so, naturally, Ben and I decided to explore instead.

The first day of class continued to get closer and closer yet we decided our preparation was probably enough. We got assigned to teach a beginner class so we figured it couldn’t be that hard to teach them. And, like in so many times in my life, we decided to wing it.

Once all the students began arriving to camp I realized how important this was to them. Some of them had gotten out of school days ago yet they willingly signed up for more school only days into their summer vacation. The concept of learning English from Americans was very appealing to them. They came in with millions of questions not only about English, but about the life and culture of America. They asked about Disneyland and the beach and surfing and Hollywood and just about every other basic fact they knew about Southern California.

But most of all they kept asking why we decided to come to the Czech Republic. They could not imagine why we would leave our Golden State for their humble country. I found that the nationalism we hold so dear in the United States, wearing flags on our shirts and celebrating our independence day, does not occur in all other countries. Nearly all the students that came to the camp had plans to leave the Czech Republic once they got old enough and wanted to learn English so they could succeed abroad wherever they planned to go.

After hearing their goals and plans I began to realize how often I took where I lived for granted. Later on that day, Ben and I met up and really studied our lesson plans in order to ensure that we taught the information well and arrived to class fully prepared the next day.

After being in public school for 10 years, I can confidently say that this small summer English class was one of the most focused classes I have ever attended. Ben and I did not deserve the attention and respect these students gave us. We hadn’t even graduated high school yet. We hadn’t even prepared for the class. But they gave us their full attention simply because we were Americans and had grown up speaking English. We didn’t earn that.

So remember that skills as simple as speaking English are coveted around the world. It is not always about how much money you can earn because of your degree, but the intelligence you are working to gain through your college career.