I have been in China for five years. I came for six months to teach English and fell in love with Weifang and the people.
I feel I am helping in developing the youth of China and assisting them to have a better future.
It would be a priviledge for me to represent my students, my college and my adopted home in the torch relay.
I hope to remain here until the Olympics so that I can pay back to China the wonderful things it has given me.
China and I
I first set foot in China on a cold afternoon in February 2003 on my way to Weifang, Shandong.
I was coming here for twelve months as a teacher of English in a Middle School.
My other purpose was to experience, for the first time in my life, what it was like to live as part of a different culture. Not just a foreigner but completely part of the society.
Now, almost five years later, I am still here.
Why? Because I fell in love with Weifang, the Weifang people and China in general.
The Weifang people made me feel part of their society and I suppose I became their ˇ°Lou Weiˇ±.
I took part in civil activities and was called on to assist in some urban planning activities such as English road signs and awareness activities for road safety. I have appeared on local television and in local newspapers when asked for my opinions.
I have taken an active part in advertising Weifang and Weifang Industries in International Investment campaigns, lending my voice to the videos.
I believe that it has been my privilege to assist the youth of China to improve their position in the rapidly expanding China economy and to give them a better future. I try to not only teach good spoken English but also to teach the students to have self confidence in their abilities in whatever it may be that they seek to do in the future.
Now I call Weifang my home. I have married a lovely local lady so my roots are now firmly planted here.
And so it would be a great honour to proudly represent Weifang, China and Australia in the Olympic torch relay. Not as a foreigner but, as an Australian, who feels a part of Weifang and who values the long ties that exist between our two nations. I fondly remember the Sydney Olympics and the excitement there. I want the Chinese people to understand that feeling of pride and excitement. These are the reasons I want to run.
Ian A Munro
