my name is xinyi liu, but people often call me sara. i’m from the southwestern chinese city of kunming, and i earned a b.a. from yunnan university in teaching chinese as a second language. afterwards i did my student teaching at honghe university, where for two years i instructed international students ages 6–45. i also taught mandarin at a high school in thailand. in 2012, i came to the u.s, where i have since been employed as a mandarin chinese teacher for maryland’s howard county public school system. teaching is my passion, so i’m proud to say that in 2018 i received my m.s. from national university in san diego in advanced teaching and learning. i strive to inspire students with activities that are both instructive and fun, and i’m looking forward to starting this journey with you.