I had not even been in Guangzhou for more than a few hours when I first humiliated myself due to my inability to speak Chinese. Yes, I learned a few important and necessary phrases like 你好 (hello), 谢谢 (thank you), 厕所 (toilet), etc., but I was nowhere near ready to be fully immersed within the Chinese language and culture.
I arrived in Guangzhou in the afternoon on Wednesday, May 15, with Jinjie, a fellow DukeEngage participant. Up to this point, my trip was already full of new experiences: this was the first time that I had traveled on a plane for more than 5 hours, the first time that I was leaving the United States, and the first time that I added a new friend to WeChat (WeChat is the messaging system of choice in China)! In anticipation of my two month stay in China, I also had plenty of time to think about the new experiences yet to come during the 15 hour plane ride from New York to Guangzhou: this would be the first time that I would be a minority in terms of language ability and race, the first time that I would be fully dependent on someone else to do simple things like order food or ask for a hotel room key replacement, and the first time that I would be speechless due to humility rather than awe. I experienced this anticipated speechlessness at dinner on my first night in Guangzhou.
The DukeEngage team members who already arrived in Guangzhou went out to dinner at a local Chinese “fast food” restaurant on Wednesday night. We were all beyond tired and were trying our best to stay awake until an appropriate bedtime to adjust to the 12-hour time difference as quickly as possible. However, my tiredness was not an excuse for my misuse of language when attempting to interact with a restaurant worker… emphasize on “attempting”. I picked up my food from the window without showing the chef that my receipt had the same order number as the one on the screen. One of the workers looked confused, so I went back over with my receipt to show them that I had the correct order number. After the worker said something to me in Chinese, I muttered out an insecure “sí”. Yes, I replied with affirmation to a Chinese worker in Spanish!!! My brain knew that it wanted to say “yes” but that it had to say “yes” in a different language… so Spanish automatically filled the void. I was not humiliated until Alexander, another DukeEngage participant, loudly questioned: “DID YOU JUST SAY SÍ?”. I immediately felt my cheeks flush and knew that I would be in for an adventure these next two months!
During our three day stay in Guangzhou, we spent our time engaging with Chinese middle school students and learning about the Chinese education system with Win-Win Education, our community partner and educational center whose goal is to incorporate English teaching into schools. Before coming to China, I did not have any detailed knowledge or steadfast judgements about the Chinese education system; however, I did expect the Chinese education system to differ greatly from that of America. After spending three days in Guangzhou and visiting four schools with which Win-Win Education partnered, I now see that there are more similarities than differences in schooling between China and the United States.
Through my interactions with students at Guangzhou Zhixin High School, Guangzhou Panyu Zhixin School, Guangzhou Zhixin High School Pazhou Experimental School, and Guangzhou Zhixin High School (Shuiyin Road), I learned that the Chinese students engage in a variety of traditional school subjects, like math, history, Chinese, and English, and enrichment based classes, like dance, music, singing, and PE. If students in America were to take Chinese class, then school would almost be identical between China and America in terms of what material students learn. In my opinion, the biggest difference between the Chinese and American education systems is that Chinese students have a long midday rest and short rests after each class. In America, students move quickly between classes and leave school earlier in the afternoon because the students do not have rest breaks. I like that the Chinese education system utilizes rest breaks as it allows students to relax between classes, which may help them focus better and be more engaged during class!
Overall, I loved every moment that I spent in Guangzhou with the middle school students and Win-Win Education. Guangzhou is such a beautiful city: the Pearl River Night Cruise allowed me to experience all of this beauty with several extraordinary middle school students. The WeChat IDs, friends, gifts, and memories that I gained during my short time in Guangzhou will last me a lifetime! Thank you, Guangzhou!
