No Limits: The Lydia Way

She’s hard to miss in the hallway - stylish, dazzling, and presenting a sincere commitment to her outfits. Students joke that none of her fashion combinations ever repeat. If there were an award ceremony for staff members at YK Pao School, the “Best Dressed” award would undoubtedly belong to Ms. Lydia. But her fashion is just the opening act - the real masterpiece is everything else.

It is easy to tell where she comes from through her accent: Russia.

“I love Shanghai. It is an international city where fewer language barriers are posed. I chose this city because people speak English the most here in China,” she said. She admitted to being shocked by the students here: “One of the things that really surprised me is that there is no difficulty in communication.”

Ms. Lydia has taught in international schools across Thailand, Myanmar, and now China. While the curriculum may not differ much, the cultural nuances certainly do. “There is not that much difference, as they were all international schools.” She feels grateful for the students here, for their discipline and personality, something she believes often stems from the environment in which one is raised.

“I love it here. It's similar to my hometown. In Russia, you try to be open and avoid talking about people behind their backs.”

Fluent in over four languages, she considers linguistics a natural talent of hers. “If I stayed in a country that speaks French for a year, it would usually be easy for me to communicate with locals and speak fluently,” she says with a playful shrug. But Mandarin has proven trickier. “I love Chinese culture, the cuisine, and the people here - that’s exactly why I’m determined to ‘own’ the language by pushing myself to communicate more with locals.”

Conversations with her are never dull. As a natural storyteller, unconventional thoughts often pop into her mind. “My aunt used to believe in star signs, and I played along,” she said with a laugh.

“As a Cancer, I consider myself empathetic and intuitive - though some might call it ‘pathetic’ in a lighthearted way.” She’s always considered her intuition a secret talent, one that has proven surprisingly accurate. Once, when her husband introduced a friend he’d known for over five years, her gut immediately warned her the man wasn’t the right fit for a business collaboration. In the end, things unfolded exactly as she’d sensed. “There’s something special,” she mused, “when the world aligns with what you already knew.”

Ms. Lydia is not only talented in reading people’s auras but also excels in unexpected ways - skills you wouldn’t even think to ask about. When she was a college student, she studied military aviation physics. “I can pilot a small plane, but I prefer gliders. There's something purer about flying without an engine.” She admits casually, “But parachute jumps were also mandatory for our course. People are always spending a crazy amount of money to do it, while I could do it for free.”

Retirement? She just laughs at the idea. “I’ve never even thought about it. My daughter once told me she’d invent a medicine to make me live forever—so I guess I’m stuck here!” But the truth is, she doesn’t want an escape. “I love my job. Being a teacher isn’t just what I do—it’s who I am.”

And so she proceeds: fluent in languages, intuitive in life. Fearless.