My Life at Renda I learned very quickly that being a teaching assistant (TA) at the University of Iowa would be different from being a teacher at Renmin University. 【46】______ Eyes staring, mouths open, students examined my big nose, while I was writing my name on the blackboard. At Iowa, when my first classes began, half of my students still hadn't arrived. When everyone finally found a seat, ringing cellphones and loud yawns (哈欠) interrupted my opening remarks. It is not that American students were disrespectful. 【47】______ They were, however, far more skeptical than the students I had at Renda. The truth is I couldn't fault them for their skepticism. Undergraduates at large US universities - especially freshmen and sophomores - often have several classes a semester handled by TAs. In some cases, the TA sets the course content. 【48】______ Most have good intentions, but very few are as effective as professors. Every teacher has to confront obstacles to learning - no matter what the culture. Students who talk during lectures, students who cheat, students who question the grade they get for a paper or project - dealing with these is all part of the job. 【49】______ The difference, I think, is that in the US I had to swallow more of my pride. 【50】______ I had a responsibility to teach them, of course, but I had to do so indirectly - as a guide who himself had a few things to learn from the students.