Following a friend's suggestion, Hannah Krause, a 2015 U.S. graduate who majored in equine exercise physiology, put aside her career in horses and flew to China alone to start a totally new life as a preschool English teacher. It was a blind leap that has paid off for the adventurous 21-year-old.

A horse lover is born

Krause was born an animal lover because of her family. Her father is a veterinarian and so there were always animals around her home during her childhood. She still recalls her very first contact with a horse as miraculous and unbelievable. "My Dad lifted me to sit on a horse and it 'kissed' me gently. My grandmother told me I was just two years old at the time," said Krause. The little girl was instantly smitten and thus began her lifelong connection with horses.

At 11, Krause and her family moved to Ocala, Florida, known as one of the horse capitals of the world. The little rider often went to horse farms nearby after school, watching riders train horses and dreaming of someday having one of her own. In 2007, that dream came true when Krause got her first horse named Nina. In order to pay for Nina's upkeep—approximately $300 per month—the 15-year-old worked after school as a cashier at a local shop. "A free horse is never free," Krause said. "It's my horse and of course, my duty."

Naturally, with her infatuation with horses, Krause chose equine exercise physiology as her college major and started the professional and systematic study of the animal. The seemingly boring lessons such as equestrian history and disease prevention and treatment, were all fascinating and delightful to Krause. Even the dull daily work of taking videos of horses running or analyzing their stride distance and rates captivated the young student.

In 2014 at the 4H Equestrian Competition of Florida, Krause won the Champion of Youth Group and the Horse Person of the Year awards on her favorite horse, Avalon Angel, who is now 8 years old and still winning competitions. "I have learned so much from horse riding such as patience and perseverance," Krause told Beijing Review. "There is no college or book in the world that can give you those lessons."

A new life in China

Soon after, the young girl had to decide on her future plans. "It was challenging for every green horn like me to find a job right after graduation in the United States, not to mention a decent one," said Krause. Following suggestions from a friend who taught English in an international language school in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Krause decided to throw caution to the wind and leave home for a totally unknown country and pursue a teaching career in which she had no experience. In March 2015, she arrived in Shenyang and set about getting accustomed to her new life in the city.

Krause rented an apartment nearby with her colleague, began to learn her new craft and got acquainted with new people. For the past three years, Krause has spent almost every weekday morning teaching English to preschoolers and most afternoons preparing her upcoming classes. In addition, she zealously participates in teaching seminars to connect with experienced colleagues and enhance her teaching skills. As an extrovert, Krause has made a lot of friends in China that have helped her learn the Chinese language and culture. One friend gave Krause a Chinese name, Wang Mengyao, which means "a dreaming and beautiful girl like a piece of jade."

Krause also loves traveling and has visited many cities and places in China. Different cities presented her with different aspects of Chinese culture, including Jingdezhen—the city of porcelain in east China's Jiangxi Province—which impressed her with its exquisite ceramics sold in every corner of the city. During her trip to north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Krause enjoyed delicious mutton and experienced wonderful grassland culture on horseback. In the warm climates of Shenzhen and Hong Kong in south China, she felt the comfort of her native Florida. "China is the first foreign country I've traveled to," said Krause, "and I hope someday in the future I can travel around all of China."

Hooking the children

Krause has become an experienced teacher after three years and is now one of the most popular employees at her workplace. "Hannah is a hardworking girl, a patient teacher and is loved by everyone," one of her colleagues told Beijing Review.

Speaking about her secret to success, Krause said, that "interest is the best teacher." In order to arouse children's motivation, Krause always designs and prepares interesting activities with her Chinese colleagues, such as role playing and various hands-on tasks. In addition, Krause believes that "patience and encouragement are everything," adding, "My students are incredibly brilliant. How incredible it is for them to speak a foreign language at their age. It's amazing." It is this manner of thinking that encourages her students and makes every single one of them love her.

Her ideas on pre-school education in China center on "learning to follow the children's choices." In her opinion, unlike U.S. parents, Chinese families care too much for their children, with the love sometimes becoming a burden. "U.S. parents will respect kids' choices even if they are not wise ones in the long term. I chose horses for my college major and then moved to China after graduation. But they were my choices and my life," said Krause. "Chinese parents should follow their kids' choices more rather than make decisions for them."

Impression of China

After being in China for three years, the U.S. girl has gradually fallen in love with her life here. In Krause's eyes, the four great new inventions of China—e-commerce, mobile payment, bullet-trains and bike-sharing—make daily life more convenient. On workdays, she commutes with others through Didi rather than driving by herself. On vacations, taking bullet-trains to travel around the country is her first choice ahead of flying. Krause is also impressed with the public security in the country. "China is a safe place," said Krause. "I can take a walk with friends in the evening without worrying about the safety issue."

Asked about her overall impression of the country, Krause quickly chose "rapid changes" as the keywords. She believes China is on its way to becoming a better place to live, not only because of its urban construction and economic growth, but also because of its humanistic progress and environmental improvement. "The air quality is much better this year compared to 2015 when I first arrived, it is impressive to make a change in such a short period," said Krause. After being told there is a professional equestrian center in the city, Krause excitedly said she can't wait to have a look. "Horse riding and teaching are equally important to me, if I could have them both in China, there would be nothing better for me."

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo 

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