Part 1: Host Family
It is the afternoon of Monday, 5/27/2019, and I am already starting this blog post because I have so much I want to share about my host family. I’m sure everyone in the group is saying the same thing, but I AM SO GRATEFUL and SO HAPPY WITH MY MATCH! Thank you for working your MAGIC, Hsiaomei and Yanan!
Before meeting my host family on Saturday morning, 5/25/2019, I’ll admit that I was slightly nervous. I had confidence in my ability to connect with other people, find common interests, and learn from each other, but I was unsure whether my host family would have the same motivation to get to know me! I was eager for a connection… to find a home away from home during my short stay in Zhuhai this summer. I quickly overcame this nervousness when I remembered how tirelessly Hsiaomei and Yanan worked last week to match each Duke student with the best host family for them. Hsiaomei said, “I don’t just want to find you a roof. We would have finished that on Monday. I want to find you a family who will make this experience special and give you cherished memories.” So, I walked into the room filled with our host families-to-be with excitement, love, and openness… I was ready to embrace the uncertainty and awkwardness, as well as the love and support that I would experience with my new (host) family. ;)
As mentioned in last week’s blog, I was paired with a family that has TWO children (Ted and Telly)! They are twins in Grade 8! I basically have a third host sibling if you count the family’s good friend, Jack (also Grade 8), who spends more time at Ted and Telly’s house than his own! From the moment that I met Ted, Telly, and Helen (the English name that me and the kids assigned… yes, we assigned her a name to help me remember… to my host mother LOL), I instantly felt a connection, a vibe, a sense of security and acceptance. This feeling has persisted throughout my first three days with the host family. I am grateful beyond words.
On Saturday, we (my host family and I) retrieved my belongings from the hotel and they helped me to get situated into my room for the next several weeks. They have a beautiful apartment on the top floor with a rooftop garden!!!! Hsiaomei was so excited for me and told me: “You have a lot of organic vegetables to eat!”. Speaking of that, my family (I’m going to drop the “host” and just call them my family, because I feel like I am doing them a dishonor if I refer to them as anything less) has asked questions to understand my dietary restriction (vegetarian) and has made sure that I have plenty of food to eat! We went to a vegetarian buffet for lunch on Saturday and a dim sum (traditional “snack” style of food from the Guangdong province in China) restaurant on Sunday morning. We have eaten all other meals at home, and I have LOVED every single dish. My family is eager to have me try authentic Chinese cuisine, and I have put more on my plate than my stomach can manage. But I eat everything with curiosity. The kids were away on Saturday afternoon taking additional math classes, so I awkwardly asked Helen and Jack’s mom if I could help them prepare dinner (DUMPLINGS!). They said that I was a quick learner and better than the kids at folding the dumplings!!!
In addition to cooking, I have spent quality time with my host family by teaching the kids magic (rope and card tricks), showing them magic tricks, learning and playing Chinese chess for literally 3 hours (so fun!), and talking to the parents through a translation application called Youdao. And let me tell you, this app is a GAME CHANGER! You can speak into it in English and it spits out an audio and written Chinese translation. It can also translate from Chinese to English. Via this application, my father (who does not have an English name… and frankly, I don’t even know his Chinese name) has taught me about Chinese history and we have learned a lot about each other.
After talking with the parents with the help of Youdao for about an hour on Sunday evening, my father told me that “It felt like we were old friends, now connecting with each other again.” During my short stay with my host family, I have learned that all people are the same. In my opinion, people are kind, accepting, want to connect with others, and have similar interests that unify us. Although I may have lived halfway across the world from my (host) parents for twenty years and although we come from places that have different cultures and governments, we are one in the same. We have more similarities than differences. The same things bring us joy and happiness. Our smiles, laughter, and eye contact speak a universal language. I think that this is what makes humanity beautiful.
It is currently Monday afternoon and I am at home writing part one of this blog at home because a torrential downpour brought severe flood warnings to Zhuhai. We will begin our first English lesson and extracurricular class tomorrow! I will write part 2 of this blog later this week! :)
Part 2: English Lessons, Extracurriculars, and Adventures
It is now Sunday afternoon on June 2, 2019, and I just woke up from a nap! I am not one to normally take naps, but I guess that everything from this week mixed with the overcast/rainy weather (common in the afternoon in Zhuhai) finally caught up to me, because there was NOT a dull moment this week! Here is a snapshot of this week: English class epiphany and revamping, film class introductions and topic selection, magic is a universal language, host family adventures, birthday celebration, movie dates, and exploration with new friends! :)
As previously mentioned, we did not have school on Monday due to a code red safety warning (potential flooding) in anticipation of the torrential downpour that occurred throughout the day. On Tuesday, we continued teaching English to the students that we had met the previous week. I was so excited for class this week as I had prepared an extensive PowerPoint of “new” vocabulary words with Chinese to English translations and pictures to aid in comprehension. I thoroughly enjoyed class on Tuesday and Wednesday, and I believe that my students did too based on their expressions and engagement, but I felt like I was missing something… I felt like I did too much talking/lecturing and did not provide the kids with enough time to practice speaking. After all, our class with the students is focused around “conversational English”. I also felt like 40 minutes, the length of a class at No. 9 Middle School, was not enough time to cover everything that I… emphasize on I… wanted to review. In my opinion, I included too much material and moved too quickly without allowing proper times for the students to engage with the material and practice speaking. I felt like every minute of class had to be structured and utilized efficiently. Then I remembered what Nadia Ford, a DukeEngage Zhuhai participant in 2017, said to me a few weeks before departing for China: “The students will not remember the vocabulary that you teach them, but they will remember the way that they felt when they were practicing English with you.” Also, a student asked me on Wednesday afternoon if “there will be a magic show next week?” I was confused by the question until I remembered that I told the students during the first week that I would show them a new magic trick each week. I thought about this when I was planning English class over the weekend, but as previously mentioned, I did not think that this would be an effective use of time…. again, emphasize on I. On Wednesday afternoon after I remembered Nadia’s comment and was questioned by a student about magic, I realized that what I thought I should do and what the kids wanted may not be the same. I decided to change the structure of my English course for Thursday and Friday, as well as the next few weeks.
I spoke with my host siblings and an English teacher at the school (Jimmy) on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, respectively, to determine the best way to conduct English class. I learned that students seldom speak English at school or at home because it is not tested: only listening, reading, and writing English are covered on exams. I learned that the students have an English class focused on writing and grammar, so they have enough practice with verb tenses / conjugations and sentence structure. I also realized that we (the Duke students) do not know what will be covered on the exams, so we are not limited to a set curriculum and we have great freedom in how we conduct class. So, my plan for English class as of Wednesday (that worked well on Thursday and Friday and that I will follow for the time being) is to begin class with a speaking warm-up activity to test student knowledge on words that they SHOULD know from the textbook, provide new vocabulary that is NOT covered in the textbook, demonstrate new vocabulary words by telling a story via a magic trick, and then play a verbal game to allow students to practice speaking. This is ambitious for a 40-minute class, but I will continue to regularly re-evaluate this plan by reviewing strong areas and areas of improvement after each class. I will provide an update on this plan in next week’s blog post!
This was the first week of extracurricular classes! I led the film class with Elizabeth on Tuesday and Thursday and hosted a magic course on Wednesday. Each extracurricular class has limited space (most are capped at around 40 students) and lasts one hour (4:40-5:40). In a previous conversation with my girlfriend about alternative lives, I said that I would major in Documentary Studies, because I think that documentaries are so powerful, beautiful, and require immense talent. So, I was excited to lead film class (and live vicariously through the students as they developed mini documentaries)! This year is the 10th anniversary of Duke’s partnership with Zhuhai No. 9 Middle School, so all the films are focused around the past, present, and future relationship between the two schools. On Tuesday, the students divided into nine groups. Elizabeth and I decided on nine film ideas based on this year’s theme (past, present, and future relationship), which the students chose on Thursday (decided by a friendly game of rock-paper-scissors when more than one group wanted the same film topic). Elizabeth and I were worried that the students would be upset as they would have less freedom than previous years in deciding the topic of their film (it may be hard to believe, but action / fighting films are popular among the middle school students… these types of films were vetoed before the first classs!), but on Thursday they dove in head first in planning the various films. The nine film topics for this year include: 1) montage of old performances (Duke and No. 9 students), 2) reflections from previous year DukeEngage participants, 3) No. 9 students visits to Duke University, 4) host family interactions, 5) English/extracurricular classes, 6) relationship between Duke and No. 9 students, 7) WeChat conversations between students after returning home, 8) exchanging letters at the end of the program (what Duke and No. 9 students taught each other), and 9) reflections from this year’s DukeEngage participants. I am excited to see how all the films will turnout! :)
Magic on Wednesday was sooooooo funnnn! I began class by showing the students a few magic tricks with cards and sponge balls to engage them and excite them before teaching them a trick with sponge balls. I split the magic trick into small, understandable parts and explained how to do each part while demonstrating it slowly. The language barrier presented a slight obstacle, but when I circled around the room during practice time, I was able to demonstrate the trick in smaller groups, which helped the students understand the technique! During this class, I learned that magic is truly a universal language, along with the students’ smile and laughter that accompanies witnessing a magic trick or successfully performing one for a friend. I am looking forward to teaching card magic next Wednesday! :)
Yesterday, Saturday 6/1/2019, was Children’s Day! My host siblings (both age 14) said that they were too old to celebrate, but I told them that we are kids at heart so that we are never to old to celebrate. The whole family took a short road trip (about 30 minutes) to one of the many islands off the coast of Zhuhai to visit a small Chinese village with a rich history. We tried traditional desserts (sesame paste, green bean soup, tofu pudding, quail eggs, and a few more whose name I do not know), visited small museums and preserved houses/temples, picked and ate naturally growing fruit, had a nice lunch in a very scenic restaurant on the island tucked away down a long dirt road, and walked through the “Red Forest” (which was full of hermit crabs and the BIGGEST SPIDERS THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN… Spiders and I are not friends). It was truly a beautiful day. I have continued to grow closer to my host family this week through playing Chinese Chess, sharing meals, receiving a Chinese lesson from the parents while simultaneously teaching them English, and using the Youdao translator to communicate! I am honestly so happy with my host family. :)
This week was full of many other adventures, such as playing a well fought game of basketball with local club teams in Zhuhai, going to see Godzilla 2 in 3D TWICE at the movie theater (once with Duke students and friends for Evan’s birthday on Friday… Happy Birthday Evan… and once with Peter, a good friend from No. 9 Middle School, and a few friends on Saturday), and visiting a small village earlier today (6/2/2019) with Duke students and other No. 9 students. We witnessed the proceedings of a traditional arranged marriage and viewed some preserved buildings. I also made some new friends with No. 9 students! The weekend outings allow us to talk with students with whom we may normally not meet during the school day because they are in a different English or extracurricular class.
I am appreciative beyond words for all the new opportunities and experiences that this week provided! I will post updates on my host family, English and extracurricular classes, and any unexpected adventures next week. Thank you for your time. :)
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