The first thing I noticed when I stepped out of the airport was the heat and humidity. Having visited China a few times before, I thought Guangzhou looked like a typical Chinese city. It was super humid and the streets were packed with people.
When we first arrived at Zhixin Middle School, I was surprised at how beautiful their campus was. We were warmly welcomed by the school staff and treated like superstars, with a camera crew following us everywhere. Then we each paired up with a middle schooler who showed us around the campus, teaching us about their school’s history and education system. Watching them explain their school’s history in a second language to foreigners, I was extremely grateful for everything they were doing to try to make us feel welcomed and comfortable.
At first I was really nervous because I knew the kids would be confused when they saw that I looked just like them and maybe even disappointed that I didn’t look American enough. However, my first buddy, Mellet, was really eager to talk to me, and I could tell she prepared a lot of questions to ask me. Her English was really good, and I got to learn about her school life and her other hobbies. One of the first things she told me was her love and adoration for Nathan Chen, the figure skater. She also asked me if I knew anyone who went to Yale. At first I was like “oh I guess she isn’t that interested in Duke” but then I realized it was because Nathan Chen goes to Yale!! She told me that she wants to continue to study English and hopefully go to Yale one day. It made me really happy knowing that she has a good role model to look up to and motivate her to study harder! I was also really impressed when she told me she went to international piano competitions since second grade. All the kids at Zhixin were really good at English and had an immense sense of pride for their school, and I wish I could get to know them better!
Besides visiting schools, we also went on a Pearl River boat ride. It was a beautiful experience that allowed us to see more of Guangzhou and also talk to the kids in a more open setting outside of school. I found out that some of the kids were even interested in the same music artists as me! I guess fangirling is universal 😂. Even though we only spent a few hours together, I was already sad to leave the kids, hugging them tightly because I knew I'd probably never see them again. Guangzhou is such an amazing city, and three days is definitely not enough time. I’m very thankful for everything the Win-Win education staff and Zhixin staff did for us, and I hope I can come back and visit some day!
