Week 12

Week 12: Personal Blog

10/05/12

I cannot believe that I have just spent my last week in China.  It seems like only yesterday I was leaving Northern Ireland to begin this incredible journey.  Now I am on the other side of my three months in China I can honestly say it has been the best three months of my life.  There have been a lot of difficult and challenging times but more importantly there have been life changing moments that have changed me into a better person and I have memories that I  will keep with me for the rest of my life.

This last week in China proved to be very eventful.  After a lunch with our lecturers to say thank you for all their help and support we took a 22hour train to Beijing.  Upon arriving in Beijing I was so happy to be in the capital of China.  This trip was what we had been working towards and it had finally arrived and we were all in good spirits.

We got to see The Great Wall of China. Personally this was something I had always wanted to do and it was even more beautiful than I had expected.  We went to a secluded area of the wall away from tourists and it was absolutely beautiful.  The weather was absolutely perfect and I felt so lucky to be standing on The Great Wall of China.  We got to see more highlights of Beijing including the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.  To the delight of us all we ended up going to see the world’s biggest stadium in Beijing that was used for the 2008 Olympics – The Bird’s Nest. I was so surprised by how much I loved seeing this building. It was a real treat at the end of our trip.

Dani and I on The Great Wall

The four of us at The Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing

Unfortunately we missed our original train back to Guangzhou because of a mishap with reading the wrong time on our tickets.  This meant we resulted in having to stand – yes that’s right, STAND for 22hours on the train. These were the only tickets left on another train back to Guangzhou that day. This was an experience I will never ever forget. Danielle and I quickly made our home for the next day in the smoking area of the train because this was the only space available. At first I was so worried that I couldn’t cope for longer than 5minutes on this train as the conditions were quite bad.  Sleeping on the hard floor on a newspaper did not appeal to me at all. However, the people of China surpassed all my expectation yet again.  We were met with the kindest people who shared their stools, lunch and dinner with us.  There was a real spirit of unity among the people who were just sitting on the floor who were in the same position as us.  It turned out to be the most humbling experience I’ve had and one that will stay in my heart for a long time!

One of my new friends from the train journey back to Guangzhou

We leave China in just a few days time and I am very sad to be going.  Saying goodbye to all of our friends was not easy but we have been blessed with emailing and hopefully we will be able to stay in contact. I have honestly met some incredible friends here in China.  When ever  I think of China I think of the generous, kind and wonderful people that I met here.  China now has a very large place in my heart and I really can say that this experience has changed my life.  I am so grateful for this amazing opportunity that I have had to live here for three months.  I would encourage any students at Stranmillis thinking of spending the semester abroad to do it!! You will not regret it and it will be an experience of a lifetime!!

China you have been incredible.

Thank you J

Week 11

Week 11: Personal Blog

03/05/12

This week saw the end of all our classes and studies at SCNU.  We had a full week of essay writing and exam revision.  At first I was not looking forward to this week and I really dreaded it however knowing that all four of us where in the same situation made it easier and the week passed quickly as we all worked to keep each other’s spirits up! 

One personal achievement this week was completing a mandarin exam.  When we had our first ever mandarin class at SNCU I found it very difficult to follow the initial sounds and had real difficulty understanding the language.  However this week I was able to have a conversation in mandarin and recognise basic words and sayings.  This was a huge achievement for me and it showed how far my language learning has come from the first few weeks in China.  It shows what hard work and determination can achieve.  I also feel a huge sense of achievement when I am able to use my mandarin for everyday use here in China.  It is priceless.

This week also brought another personal achievement for me.  I was invited out for lunch with two of my classmates and I happily joined them for lunch at a Chinese restaurant.  I felt so content eating with my chopsticks and trying my best to order in Chinese.  This is a far cry from my first night here in China when I got very scared eating the ‘hotpot’.  It is incredible how much of a change I can notice in myself in the past few months.  I have done things I never thought I would and I have gained confidence and independence living in this foreign country which is something I was unsure if I would be able to achieve.

Drawing near to our final weeks in China has made me reflect largely on this experience and the incredible three people who I have shared this journey with.  I knew Dani from school but I didn’t know Keith or Dan at all so I was a little apprehensive to be spending three months with them in China.  How my opinion has changed!!  I now consider all three of them extremely good friends.  They have supported, encouraged and challenged me all in their own way.  This experience wouldn’t have been the same without them and I wouldn’t wish to have spent this time in China with anyone else.  They have been such a blessing to share this experience with.

The fab four!

Every time I think about having to leave China it makes me really sad.  I honestly feel like the time I have spent here has changed my life.  I have been changed and grown personally in ways I would never have imagined.  It has been an experience of a lifetime.  This is such a change compared to my thoughts and feelings of extreme culture shock in my first week.  I know now that I will really miss China whenever I get home.

   

One of my favourite views in Guangzhou.  A mix of old Chinese flats and buildings and the relatively new ‘TV tower’ seen in the background.

Week 10

Week 10: Cultural

26/04/12

This week has been my favourite so far since coming to China.  We all finished our placement and made our way across the border to Hong Kong to spend the weekend with Andrew and Heather.  I also celebrated my 21^st birthday at the weekend and it made my birthday so special being with more friends from home, celebrating in Hong Kong.  We had dinner at ‘TGI Friday’s’ and...I did the world’s highest bungee jump to ensure that I did something on my 21^st birthday that I would never forget.  It was incredible!!

Preparing to do the bungee jump.  As you can see Andrew was very scared

The bungee jump is situated in Macau which is an island inside Hong Kong.  So we were blessed to be able to see this beautiful Island as well as Hong Kong during our weekend.  Macau was completely different to China and Hong Kong.  It was very similar to some of the European cities that I have visited.  The streets were cobbled and it used to be owned by the Portuguese so it doesn’t feel like you are in China at all when you are in Macau.  This new atmosphere was so refreshing and it enabled us all to relax being away from university and enjoy spending time together.  This is something I have learnt to appreciate being away from home.  Simply spending time with people is so special. You don’t always have to be doing something exciting but simply enjoying each other’s company has brought me so much joy.  This had made me greatly appreciate the fantastic relationships that I do have at home.

Being in Hong Kong this weekend also reminded me just how different Chinese lifestyle is.  In Hong Kong we were easily able to order food in English without any problems.  In China this has proved a huge difficulty at times.  I do prefer China in this aspect and the fact that they don’t change their language or compromise their culture to suit the needs of the ever increasing westerners coming to China.

Straight after our trip to Hong Kong we set off travelling to another part of China.  We had been told by everyone we have met in China to visit a place called ‘Guilin’.  Nothing that anyone could have described would have prepared me for the beauty of creation that we saw in Guilin.  I have never seen more incredible mountains than those which are in Guilin.  I actually was speechless for a large amount of this day as I took in the breathtaking sights of rural China.  This trip was also filled with many cultural experiences that I will never forget.  We got to go on a bamboo raft along the ‘Dragon River’ in Yangshuo, pet and feed water buffalo and try the traditional ‘rice noodles’ of Yangshuo.

Our bamboo raft navigator!!

 Guilin is famous for it’s spectacular mountains and it is the place where the scene on the back of a 20 yuan note is from. (yuan is the currency used here in China).  So it was a wonderful experience being able to see this place for ourselves.

 The mountains and the 20 yuan note!!

We spent the next few days in the most beautiful village.  This time felt like a well earned holiday after our placement.  This village also had many products that are available to buy at home but we were able to purchase them for a cheaper price.  This was when I got to try my hand at bartering.  Normally in Northern Ireland I never complain about anything and I have never tried bartering before so this was a first time experience for me.  I really enjoyed it and I was able to get much needed gifts for home.

All together this trip was another great cultural experience for me J

This is the Chinese sleeper train that we took to Guilin.  We also got a sleeper bus back to Guangzhou, both of which were new experiences for m

Week 9

Week 9: Professional

19/04/12

Week 9 has arrived already and it is safe to say that I am already dreading the day that we have to leave China. I have fallen in love with the people who I have met in China and I am not looking forward to saying my goodbyes.

During this week I went back to my Middle School as my teacher and I were going to have dinner together that night.  I arrived to find that the students had secretly organised individual Chinese gifts for me and I spent the next hour receiving a large amount of presents and well wishes. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of these students and I can only hope that the short time that I had in this school made a positive impact on the teachers and the students. 

                                                        Some of my middle school students J

Two of my middle school students and a few of the presents that I received

I spent my second week in Primary School and I had a range of experiences this week that have developed my confidence in my own teaching ability.  The resources in this primary school are very limited compared to the Primary Schools I have been blessed with in Northern Ireland. One morning this week I was informed 5 minutes before my lesson began that there was no projector or computer in the room. My whole lesson was based on a PowerPoint that I had prepared.  A few years ago this situation would have sent me into despair but instead I felt calm and was able to create a lesson drawing from ideas I have learnt over the previous three years at Stranmillis.  This lesson ended up being a huge success.

One main criticism that I have observed about Education in China is that there is limited and at times no differentiation in teaching.  In the primary classes that I have observed many of the children do not engage with the lesson and there is no variation in the teaching to try and engage these pupils.  If any of the children do not listen in class or get easily distracted then they are commonly referred to as ‘the naughty children’.  This really saddens me because I believe with effective intervention methods these children could easily engage with the classroom teaching as long as their specific needs are realised and met.

I also got to have my first experience of team teaching this week.  One afternoon all four of us where invited to a Foreign Language School in the sub-urban area of Guangzhou.  We taught the class about Northern Ireland and this was one of my favourite lessons I have taught.  It felt like I was teaching with three great friends and we worked well together as a team.  The teacher in charge of this class noted that he enjoyed watching this team teaching as he has never seen this before. The pupil’s in this school spoke excellent English.  I was very impressed.  After this lesson we were taken out for dinner by our lecturer Amy and Teresa to say thank you.  Again I was blown away by the generosity of the Chinese people.  They paid for our dinner and bought us nearly every dish on the menu.  I have really enjoyed this relaxed approach with regards to teacher and student relationship. I now see Amy and Teresa as good friends and it makes my time here at SCNU easier because I feel like I can easily talk to them if I have any problems with my studies.  Amy has even offered me some extra lessons to help improve my mandarin!

Dan, Keith, Dani and myself teaching at the foreign language school

Week 8

Week 8: Professional

12/04/12

This week I started my two week placement in a local Primary School in Guangzhou.  Primary School in China is very different to Northern Ireland.  The classes are taught in periods in the same way as our Secondary School.  I have found this quite difficult to get used to as I love having my own class at home who you can get to know and build up a good relationship with.  Every day this week I have been in a new class so it has been very difficult to build any relationship with the classes.  I am teaching grade 1 and grade 2 classes.  This is equivalent to our primary 2 and 3.  There are 8 classes in each grade with 50 pupils in each class.  This has been a huge challenge controlling 50 pupils all at once.

My first lesson was with a grade 1 class and it was the worst lesson I have ever had in my whole teaching experience.  As soon as I entered the room the children were so excited and where screaming ‘laosi’ at me, which means ‘teacher’ in mandarin.  The teacher had to help me calm the children so that I could begin my lesson.  Unfortunately as soon as I started introducing myself I realised what limited English the children had.  This is understandable as they have only been learning English for one semester but it made teaching very difficult for me.  I immediately had to resort to singing songs and playing games with the children to try and interact with them in a different way.

Dani and I have been asked to team teach lectures about Northern Ireland for different grades.  So far we have done 3 lectures all of which I really enjoyed.  The children are older than my classes and understood most of what we were saying.  All of the children are eager to learn about different cultures and always have lots of questions to ask us.  After one of the lectures I had a ‘celebrity moment’ when Dani and I were literally mobbed by a whole class of children wanting us to sign our autographs on their books.  This was a very surreal experience.

Our lecture with grade 8 on Northern Ireland!

Dani and I being asked for autographs

 Dani and I have also been teaching morning exercises for the school.  Every morning at 8am the pupils assemble in the playground and they do a series of songs and dances to help them exercise before classes begin.  The teachers have all emphasized what an important part of the school day that this is.

Morning exercises

This week has been a huge learning curve for me.  I feel like I can completely empathise with EAL students.  At many times I have had absolutely no idea what the children are saying to me and I have learnt to adapt a new teaching style for this experience in Primary School.  I have been using body language and facial expressions more than I ever would in teaching.  This has proven useful as another way of communicating with the children.  When I am teaching orally, using an American accent enables the children to understand better because many of the CDs and tapes that they learn English from all have American accents.  I found that using prizes is just as effective in China as it is in school in Northern Ireland.  Even though there is a language barrier the children understand that they need to behave in a certain way to receive a prize.  So this has been increasingly helpful for me when managing the children’s behaviour.

This week at school has contributed greatly to the developed of my professional competences.  I have mostly learned the importance and positive effect that using a range of learning techniques can have on promoting positive behaviour.  I have a greater awareness of the importance of taking into consideration each child’s first language and culture and what the implications of these will be for learning.  Even after one week in Primary School here in China I feel like I have gathered a wealth of ideas and strategies for helping EAL learners in Northern Ireland.

Week 7

Week 7: Cultural Blog

05/04/12

This week China celebrated an annual holiday known as ‘Tomb’s sweeping day’.  During this holiday families return to their hometown and they sweep the tombs of their dead ancestors.  This basically means that they tend to the graves of their ancestors, lay flowers and food for them.  Chinese tradition believes that by doing this act for your ancestors you will be blessed and looked after by your dead ancestors who they believe are watching over them.  

This holiday meant that we got three days off university because all of our lecturers and classmates returned home.  However we had to make up the hours we were missing because of the holiday and we were in university all day on Saturday. 

After working hard all weekend we made the most of our three days off and visited some of the places we still had on our ‘to do’ list.  With our American friend Brad we went to ‘Chimelong Zoo’ and spent a whole day exploring the native animals of China and of course animals that we had all seen before. 

This week we also visited one of the biggest markets in Guangzhou.  Kate a girl we met from London took us to the market and gave us a quick ‘pep talk’ before entering.  We were warned of being pushed, poked and pulled by every stall seller in the market who would try and sell us every item they had.  She also said it would be very overcrowded and very dirty.  Kate was right about all of these things.  I actually enjoyed the market as it was so different to my shopping experiences at home.  I found it fascinating to see the diverse families and people that work at these stalls.  For many of them it is their only way of income for their family.  It was a stark reminder of the poverty that is very evident all around this city.  After the market trip Kate invited us back to her flat.  We were surprised to find the most incredible view of the city from the top of Kate’s building. She has her own private rooftop that overlooks all of Guangzhou.  It was absolutely beautiful.  We relaxed here for hours in the quietness and calm away from the buzzing city life.

We had been warned about one of the metro stations in Guangzhou and told to avoid it if at all possible.  This week we had to make a stop off at this station and it definitely was the worst place I have been in China so far. I have never been in a crowd filled with so many people before.  The four of us all held onto each other and had to battle our way through the crowd to get to our exit.  This is something that I know I will not miss about China.  I am looking forward to being back in Northern Ireland and travelling around without thousands of people constantly surrounding you

Guangzhou Railway Station – The worst place in Guangzhou!

Exploring more of Guangzhou this week has enabled us to laugh at many more of the funny ‘Chinglish’ expressions that we see on signposts.  ‘Chinglish’ is a real term that many Chinese people use to describe their way of speaking English.  It is basically the literal translation of Mandarin into English.

  

‘Don’t hurt me for your pretty’.  One of the funny ‘Chinglish’ signs around Guangzhou.

Week 6: Cultural

29/03/12

‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do’, Mark Twain (1864).

A good friend of mine said something very similar to this before I was leaving to come to China. I was told to embrace the nerves that I was feeling and to remember that this was an incredible opportunity and to ‘have a go’ at everything.  This viewpoint has stayed with me every day here.  Already I have done things and made memories that I know will last forever. 

This week we were invited to go to a Tai Chi lesson with our Mandarin teacher.  I have always wanted to try Kung fu and Tai Chi is the perfect way to start.  The Tai Chi teacher was dressed in a long robe that looked exactly like the Kung fu teachers depicted in many films.  I felt so cultured taking part in this class.  It was a lot more difficult than it looks and by the end of the class I was really frustrated that I couldn’t get the moves right.  However, it was fun and I enjoyed the new experience of spending time outside of university with my lecturer.  I am also very glad to say that I have now done Tai Chi.

The past week has seen a welcome change in weather. Since arriving in China the weather has been cold and mainly wet.  Fortunately we have been blessed with lots of sunshine this week and I am enjoying ‘sunbathing time’ in between classes.  Normally we end up being the only people lying out in the sun because most of the Chinese people prefer to protect their skin from the sun.  The dreaded mosquitoes have finally arrived.  Within a few days my legs were covered in bites.  Now I am religiously applying my spray everyday to protect myself. 

Recently we have found it very difficult to see any of our Chinese buddies.  There is a curfew at the university and students have to be in their rooms by 11pm.  This does not apply to us as we are in the International Building. This is so different to the student lifestyle that is common in Northern Ireland.  In many instances 11pm would only be the beginning of a night out.  I am hoping that next week with the annual Chinese holiday coming up we may get to spend some more time with our friends then. 

Every day I am discovering a new area of the university.  We met up with Jim Nelson again this week and he took us through one of the four entrances to SCNU that we have never even seen before.  The campus is huge with many beautiful gardens.  There are even families of the lecturers and students who live on campus.  This means there is a homely atmosphere about the campus and at all times I feel safe living here.

Some families relaxing by the river on campus

 This week was my last day teaching at the middle school.  I was very sad to be leaving. My teacher in school has become a real friend and we have planned to meet up for dinner.  After a final rendition of ‘Ireland’s Call’ I taught my classes about festivals, mainly speaking about Easter.  Many of the children and teachers did not know the Easter story and I loved being able to share this with them and explaining the real meaning of Easter.

Teaching the students about Easter

I am still so thankful for the time that I am spending here in China and I am making the most of every single day that we have left here in Guangzhou because the time is going by so fast.

Wo Shi Liuxuesheng – I am a foreign exchange student.

This is another very useful phrase for introducing ourselves to new friends.