Check out the Perspectives summer programs 2011 FaceBook group discussions here!
The new dates for our 2011 programs are as follows:
Perspectives China with our host students at Suzhou High School
“Perspectives China” is the name of our program, and in fact “perspectives” gives a good idea of what we are about. As a group we have together seen the same spectacular skyscrapers in Pudong, enjoyed similar home stays with students from Gezhi High School and in Zhujiajiao, listened to the same Chinese guest speakers on China’s media, economic future, and minorities, eaten the same range of diverse Chinese cuisines, and elbowed our way together through the mass of humanity that fills the halls and walkways of Shanghai Expo. But in fact the 28 Perspectives China students this summer have gradually been forming 28 distinct and unique views of the people, places, and dynamic changes that make up China today. “What does it mean to be Chinese?” is a question that is as complex and challenging for our Chinese TA’s as it is for our students.
Our students have been extraordinarily successful in asking questions, meeting people, making friends, and becoming comfortable with the customs and traditions of what, for many, is a new and different culture. At our first journal session during week one, we asked students to compare what they had seen in Shanghai to what they had expected or assumed they would see before they came. “All the motorcyclists and bicyclists, all without helmets – they are an accident waiting to happen,” said one student. “The modern tall buildings like the World Financial Trade Center stand behind crowded alleys where a whole family lives in one room,” commented another. “It’s a consumer society in Shanghai,” commented a third student, “but I don’t see where they get the money to spend. Just look at the ordinary people on the street.” Another student commented, “I was expecting culture shock, but it’s not that different from my home (UK). It’s just that the big buildings are taller and bigger.” “Shanghai has a reputation for its people acting as though they are superior,” remarked one of the Chinese TAs, “but actually the people are quite friendly and nice.” These snapshots of one of the world’s biggest and most economically vibrant metropolises told us that our students had heeded our advice to observe, listen, ask questions, and be prepared for the unexpected in the small slice of China called Shanghai that we passed through during the first week.
As we got to know each other and settled into the routine of our schedule of classes, field trips, evening events and free time excursions, the second week offered chances to explore the city in smaller groups, also to make personal contacts with local students on home stays. Our meeting with Shanghai’s Huangpu district leader, followed by a panel of local Gezhi students who under the Party Secretary’s political supervision answered our more controversial questions about Tibet, Taiwan, free speech and human rights in China, followed by a stimulating discussion of censorship and press freedom in China with journalist and recent Duke MBA graduate Jeff Pan, all raised in our minds the tricky question of the extent to which foreigners can and should use their own values and standards to judge what they observe in China. On this point our TAs were especially helpful in encouraging students to ask controversial questions and to sort out what is “official” in China’s state-controlled media, versus what ordinary people in China might think about these questions.
The second week journal session gave students a chance to describe their home stay with a local Gezhi student and compare this experience with how they might spend a free day at home. “My host student likes to sleep and study in her free time, or hang around with friends. She has no hobbies. Her “hobby” is doing her homework, and she does it all the time,” remarked one of our students. “We went to Super Grand Mall to shop, which is probably what I would have done anyway,” commented another. “We watched TV and talked about football (soccer), but it was clear that money was an issue when it came to entertainment,” said a third. “Friends kept coming and going all day in and out of their house; it was much less formal than at my home, and people stopped by anytime they wanted to,” observed another student.
As we now finish our third week, we have expanded our view of Shanghai to include field trips for our music and literature classes, a full day visit to the spectacular Shanghai Expo, a traditional Chinese medicine hands-on experience with acupuncture, and starting Saturday morning a three-day home stay with local high school students in Suzhou. What began as a simple question, “What does Shanghai look like?,” now is a more complicated one: “To what extent does Shanghai represent the rest of China?” Our student journal entries last night revealed the variety of people, conversations, scenes, and places that come to mind when students are asked to describe their “most memorable moment” to date. “Bargaining the price of a shirt at the underground market from $25 down to $4” stood out in the mind of one student. “There were so many people at Expo” was another student’s deepest impression of China to date. In fact the attendance at Expo averages around 200,000 people per day. “Standing next to the simple traditional houses in Shanghai’s Old Town and seeing the Pudong skyscrapers looming behind them,” was the comment of a third student. One student in the Community Service-Mandarin program wrote:
Talking with migrant children about their lives and their future was one of the most moving experiences of my life. Shanghai is not just tall buildings. Half the students in Shanghai are children of migrant workers, and their parents do not have resident permits. The children will have to return home to take high school and college examinations. College is something that most of them cannot even hope for.
Another Community Service-Mandarin student said:
Mr. Zhang, the leader of the migrant workers children’s school, was one of the most impressive people I have ever met. He told the story that his life was transformed one day when he saw someone throw out a bag of candy for migrant workers children, and they happily scrambled to get the candy. When he saw this happen, it changed his life. He realized that through simple things, people’s lives might be changed. That simple thing for him is education, and Mr. Zhang has devoted his life to this cause for migrant workers’ children.
Our students have proven themselves to be exceptionally observant, fair, good at making friends, and fun to be with. This summer they have had exceptional opportunities to experience Shanghai first hand, and they have taken advantage of them to an impressive extent. One of our more adventurous students wrote at last night’s journal session:
The program would not have been the same without this group of people. Of course I don’t know what it would have been like otherwise, but getting to know all of these people has been wonderful for me. Learning about so many different cultures while also being immersed in a completely different culture is amazing for me.
It is a privilege for the Administrators and TAs to share this summer experience with the students. Hopefully the photographs and comments on this blog will convey some of what has been so special about these four weeks in Shanghai.
Steve Downes
Program Director – Chinese Culture-Mandarin
Hi! I’m Jazmin Puentes and I am part of Perspectives China-Community Service this year. In the community service program we have been visiting two different sites where we are helping children work on their English language speaking skills as well as their writing and reading skills. Although the sites are in different areas of Shanghai, they both supply their talented students with terrific tools for learning.
I remember my first day starting community service. I was so excited to actually be able to interact with children from another country and culture, very different than my own. I have had great experiences working with children in the past but coming to China has opened my mind so much more and allowed me to see things very different than I had before. It’s amazing to see children from different ages interact so well with one another and really trying to learn the English language. The students are very welcoming and always wait for us with beautiful smiles. The times that I’ve been to the sites, I’ve realized that the more love you give to a child the more they appreciate you. Additionally, because of the interactions and emotional attachments they make at school, they consider that place a second home for them.
Ed and Janet (our Community Service Administrators) and Tania and Bruce (our TAs) make such a great team, and with their help and guidance our community service days have all been extremely successful.
Our last day at the site in Puxi was wonderful and extremely memorable. One student from each group that we had been working with took us to their home to have lunch with their family. The families that we met were just like their children: warm, welcoming and extremely kind to us. It brightened my day to see these children so happy with their families and sharing their homes with us. I was excited knowing that we were spending time with them in their own home and seeing how much they were enjoying it. For me, one of the best feelings ever is seeing a child’s eyes shine with joy, and on this day, there was much of that all around.
I believe in keeping a positive mindset and staying confident in what we do as a group. I know that our teamwork has paid off and everyone has had a tremendous experience that we will never forget. This has been a great impact on all of our lives and I am excited to see what more will come for the rest of my time in Shanghai.
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