After leaving Guangzhou for Zhuhai, I did not really know what to expect. We were leaving behind our corner of Guangzhou I had become familiar with and departing for a city I had only read about on the internet. I did not know whether it was a big or small city, the culture was the same, or how the rest of our program would unfold in Zhuhai. I was nervous about the upcoming performance and actually teaching classes by ourselves. However, after arriving in Zhuhai, I was very optimistic about my time here.
In the bus on the way to Zhuhai, all 12 of us played “hot seat” and got to know each other better on a deeper level. We continued sharing our first impressions of each other in the hotel upon arrival, and after these activities, I felt that our group really connected and grew closer together. Our first night in Zhuhai, we also went to the nearby park to observe and take part in the activities with the locals. We danced 廣場舞and played ping pong with the locals there. It was a great and lively atmosphere, and it was really cool to see 廣場舞in real life, as I learned about it in Chinese class just a few months earlier. That day we also met several boys from the No. 9 Middle School. They definitely congregated more around the non-Asian students, and for the first time, I started to feel a little left out. However, I reminded myself that this situation was not uncommon, and Professor Ku reminded us to have patience and be ourselves with the kids, and eventually they will also enjoy our company, a message she reiterated again the next day. “Challenge yourself. Change your world,” the motto of DukeEngage really stuck with me that day, as I was encouraged to change my own mindset and attitude rather than pout and wait for the students to come to me. I now knew I had to retain my welcoming demeanor, be myself, and get rid of my insecurities.
The first day of school was definitely an event I will remember for a long time. The students all welcomed us with excitement as we entered on a red carpet.
When we walked in the hallways all the students would also cheer and wave at us like we were celebrities. I felt a little bad because I did not want to be a distraction for the students. The classes were also pretty fun because I got to meet many of the students and learn more about them. I found myself improvising a lot at times, as my introduction slideshow took a lot less time than I anticipated. As a result, Kristie, Elizabeth, and I teamed up to play cherades with our groups to fill up the rest of our class periods. During these days, we also rehearsed for the performance together. Several hours before the performance, we found out that we would not be performing on the center stage because it was raining. Instead, we would be performing in the badminton center. We had to set up the stage again and figure out our surroundings. The performance itself was really fun and I think most of the students enjoyed it.
The last change that occurred this week was us moving into our host families. I had grown accustomed to staying in the hotel in Zhuhai, and I was a little nervous to have my first host family experience. However, my host family was very welcoming and kind. Although I felt a little awkward and intrusive to the family at times, they really tried to make me happy. For example, I mentioned I liked 腸粉and lychee, and the next day, they took me to eat 腸粉for breakfast and bought lychee for me to eat at school. Although my host brother does not really initiate conversations with me too often, he is very bright and pleasant. I am looking forward to furthering our friendship in the coming weeks!
