Reflection on China

I am finally back from China. I am just now recovering from the effects of the jet lag and want to share my experiences.

I had never been out of the country before I went to the country, and had no idea what to expect. But It was a worthwhile experience. I’m glad I went.

The work over there was pretty intense. Every day, I took Chinese for three hours a day, and then on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I took a comparative class on Shanghai and Beijing during the 1930s. In our Chinese class, we learned between 150 and 200 new words. We learned four lessons a week and had a test every week. Studying was like cramming for end of term finals back at school.

But all the work in Chinese paid off. When I first go to China, I would have to admit that my Chinese was pretty horrible. But after 12 weeks, I was able to understand what people were saying in most situations. And I was able to have some philosophical conversations; the day I left I had a conversation with a taxi driver about the death penalty, and whether it was moral.

In my comparative class, we had a 12 page paper due at the middle of the term, and a group project at the end. We had daily readings too, but those were never difficult to accomplish.

Some of the most important learning took place out of class, however. It was only in restaurants, and in streets, and in pickup soccer games that I was able to use my Chinese in real life situations. I saw which vocabulary and grammatical constructions I would need to actually use. More importantly, I learned about Chinese culture through these interactions.

Eating was a fascinating experience. In large groups, we would go to tables with a spinning top on them. Several dishes would then be placed on this top. We all had to share the dishes. Each time you want to eat some of a particular dish, you had to rotate the wheel towards you. I also got quite accustomed to using chopsticks. Before I got to China I had no idea how to eat with them, but now I am quite comfortable using them. I do have to say that I prefer eating the American way. I prefer getting to pick my own dish and eat if myself. And I much prefer using knives and forks instead of chopsticks.

While in China, I was fortunate to see many historical sights. I saw the summer palace in Beijing, as well as the Forbidden City where the emperors used to live. I also got to hike part of the Great Wall. I was grateful to be able to take in all of these places.

I was also able to see other parts of China besides Beijing. We took two weeks off in the middle and went to Shanghai and other cities in the southeast of the country. Shanghai is a very modern and international city. It is more cosmopolitan than Beijing and also more expensive. The climate is also better. I wish we could have spent more time there.

At the end of the trip, I left with a great deal of love for the country and a desire to return one day. Hopefully I can do an internship there Junior year, and perhaps work for a year or two. I published an article about race in China which you might find interesting. Here is the link:

http://www.blackcommentator.com/256/256_student_writers_corner_brother_china_gadson.html

I have a month off at home, and I’m looking forward to some downtime. In the winter I will go back to Dartmouth. You can bet I will post again when I return.