Class of 2010

This past summer I was a volunteer teacher in a boarding school in Yantai, China. Located in the upper central east coast of China in the Shandong providence, the people of Yantai where the nicest and most welcoming people I’ve met. It was truly a challenging but great new experience to live in a country where I couldn’t communicate, but where people were out to help and introduce me to such a different culture. I lived in boarding school close to the beach where students followed the same rigorous schedule everyday: wake up early, breakfast, class, exercise, lunch, class, study, and sleep. My schedule was more relaxed and allowed me to wonder around the city and beach, and try to meet people. English classes were fun, kids were always excited to see me and hug me, and it was great, though sometimes they gave too much love. At times teaching English was hard, as a ESL (English as a second language) student myself I wanted to make sure they learn as much as they could in the short span of time we met and I had to balance between conducting class activities and more serious work that they could grasp. When not teaching I would enjoy Chinese food and culture, which includes having an amazing cheap meal and then going to a local park to see a large group of people doing Tai-chi or dancing in big groups, or joining them on climbing a hill to get a nice exercise and view of the city and beach. I also got to travel and meet tons of cool random people in the cities of Suzhou “The Venice of Asia,” Hanzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai, Beijing, and climb the Great Wall. I really enjoyed my experience in China and felt in love with many aspects of the Chinese and Asian cultures, such as night markets and the alive, safe and family oriented night life. The experience has encouraged me to try to go back to Asia and teach English once I leave Wesleyan. I believe teaching English is one of the best means to engage in great relationships with people and experience a new culture, language and society.