Right On!! This is the main reason that I love my work and my students. I am me and I am terrific and they know it. I show my human side and the students know that I love China and my life here. They "groove" on the fact that I have respect and admiration for their country and that it is genuine.
They are the future and it is so very satisfying to have them speak out in class and affirm their own destiny.
I am always amazed at FT's who are bored and can't seem to have "in depth" or "meaningful" conversations with the Chinese. I have both and thoroughly enjoy the thoughts expressed. An FT who is under the impression that the Chinese operate solely under a group mentality are sorely mistaken.
If you are confident in yourself and open to new ideas, you will find what could be considered the perfect class (yep, there are always goof-off's but there are bright sparks aplenty!)