Is China moving forward to dominate the world?

Teach in Asia 2012

The final week in Yong'an, Fujian

After an emotional and elaborate farewell, we left Yong'an for Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian province. It was the morning after the graduation ceremony which was held in the school premises. Students of all seven classes showcased their talents at the program. They performed dances, sang songs and performed one act plays. We 'the foreign teachers' helped them prepare their shows for which they worked many hours in the third week of the program. My class prepared a skit named 'Rob the Bank'. It was a humorous enactment of bank robbery. I was asked to play a bank robber while three students played bank employees and a customer who tricks the robber and steals his money. The play was liked by the audience including the Mayor of Yong'an city. The Yong'an city government supported the program in which students from rural areas also participated.

On the morning of Saturday, July 28, all students gathered at our hotel. A number of students brought presents for their teachers. We got together for group pictures, hugged each other and became emotional. We boarded the bus with tearful eyes. As the bus slowly rolled out of the hotel, students waved at their teachers. The atmosphere was enveloped with sadness of separation. Leaving many tearful eyes behind we left Yong'an with deep emotions.

We were quiet in the bus which took three hours to reach Fuzhou. I was immersed in Chinese culture for three weeks and experienced it up, close, and personal. I had touched the hearts and mind of many young people and was touched by them. This bond was symbolic of strong human relations which has existed since ancient days. No boundaries of politics of geography can break it.
It was remarkable to see the level of support that the Chinese society provides to educate its younger generation. Parents and officials work together to offer opportunities to younger generation competing in all areas of their studies. Even if they were learning English, they were using their expertise to research and experiment in other disciplines, such as, science.

I visited China under the program initiated by Crane House-Asia Institute located in Louisville, KY. Crane House partnered with Association of Science and Technology of Fujian province. This association functions for promotion of science in schools and is supported by local chapters called societies. Thus the goal of promoting eduction is shared by all members of the association who work together to meet their objectives. A number of officials working in the foreign affairs department of the association are highly educated people who possess international perspective on education. These officials are helping students from rural areas compete with students who live in cities and have access to better education.

The association's goal is to promote English as a foreign language along with promotion of science. The Chinese people display great love and commitment for their language. It was not easy to find an English speaking person in the capital city of Fujian. The education leaders of China are convinced about the importance of English as an international language. China wants to compete with the West in all areas. It wants its younger generation to learn English but not at the cost of their own Chinese language. It is evident that China has a clear cut goal to succeed in the 21st century.

My teaching experience in Yongan, Fujian province

Teach in Asia 2012


Yong'an, Fujian, July 16:

Before we left Fuzhou city for Yong'an on July 10, our local hosts took us for a sight seeing tour. We went to the historical site of Three Lanes and Seven Alleys located in the center of the city. This charming place is an architectural complex comprising hundreds of ancient houses belonging to the Ming and Qing Dynasty. We went inside a house that is connected to other houses leading us to a varieties of rooms and courtyards. In one of the houses we were the audience of a beautiful musician who played her musical instrument creating an environment of peace. In the afternoon we visited the local Panda Park to see the famous animals in their resting place. The staff was busy preparing for their meal and one of them was lovingly feeding a panda like a mother feeds her child.

All pictures by Ashok Ojha

We reached Yong'an city after a three hour drive. A modest ceremony was held in the school before we were placed in our respective classes. I am teaching in class # 2. Some of my students are shy but are eager to learn, speak and write English. I help them converse easily in English. We are teaching in two sessions every day. The morning session is held for three hours during which students are exposed to a variety of real life situations related with American life-styles. We are incorporating a varieties of language games and other activities in our instruction, such as, Bingo game, Sing-a-song, dictations, art and crafts and games. During the afternoon sessions, student groups rotate among the seven classes so that they could learn from the teaching styles of all teachers.

I showed my students a presentation on 'A Trip to New York'. Based on the information from my presentation they are working in groups to prepare their own plan to visit a city in USA. They are also writing and preparing to present a story written by them in the class. On Friday, July 13, the afternoon session was devoted to activities like yoga, sport and dance.

We spent our weekend at Tianing, a charming place surrounded by lakes and hills, which is a heritage site in Fujian province. We spend two days boating and experiencing local life style and culture. The local hosts took us to an unforgettable boat ride in the river that flows between rocks with tiny caves that present interesting designs of animals and birds. Our boatman entertained us with folk songs whose words we didn't understand but enjoyed the melody. We attended a musical presentation in the evening. This song and dance show was blended with spectacular sound and light show during which artificial rain was added as an extra attraction.

We spend the day of July 15 boating in the nearby lake. July 15 happens to be my birth day and I can't find a better place than Tianing to celebrate where my colleagues sang Happy Birthday for me.

Arriving in China

 Fuzhou, July 8:

I left Newark, New Jersey for China on July 5 by United Airlines. I took the connecting United Airlines flight at San Francisco for Shanghai, China for a twelve hour journey across the Pacific.

Shanghai airport

It was raining heavily when the plane landed at Shanghai airport. It was 5 pm in the evening on July 6. By the time I emerged from the airport building the rains stopped. I didn't experience any delay at the immigration counter. The agent took a look at my passport then a swift look at me before stamping my passport. I was in China.

In the morning of July 7 I met TIA colleagues, Joe, Nancy, Ebony and Liquitta at the hotel. They had arrived previous night from different locations. We left for the airport for our next flight for Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province.

Welcom at Fuzhou airport

The domestic airport at Shanghai was buzzing with activities. Long lines of men, women and children were standing in front of check-in windows. We learned that the previous night's rains caused widespread disruption of flights. Most flights were either delayed or rescheduled. We were directed towards the counters of China International Airlines to pick up our boarding passes. It seemed like a difficult proposition. The crowd was overwhelming. I led our group to a window that had the shortest line. Holding our boarding passes we headed towards gate # 206 to be processed for boarding our flight for Fuzhou City.

We learned that our intended flight was delayed, however, another flight to Fuzhou was scheduled to leave for Fuzhou. I joined the group of other passengers who were pleading with the airlines agents for seats in rescheduled flights. After a little maneuvering it worked. All five of us were allowed to board the flight for Fuzhou without our luggage.

It was hard to find someone who could speak English at Fuzhou airport. With much difficulty I communicated with an airlines employee who helped us register our complaints about our baggage which were left behind in Shanghai. Meanwhile we met with our local hosts who quickly tool over the situation in their hands. Gary, our local coordinator, told us that a welcome dinner awaited us in the evening. We met Zhao Bangsheng, Vice President of Fujian Association for Science and Technology, the umbrella organization which manages 170 societies engaged in education of various branches of science and technology in Fujian province.

We were treated with lavish dinner of varieties of sea food. Fuzhou is famous for sea food. Mr. Zhao is a mild spoken person who kept motivating us to eat more. I am not fond of sea food but picked and choose certain dishes with fish and vegetable. The evening was very enjoyable when our hosts impressed us with their generosity.

We went sight seeing on Sunday (July 8) in the mountains of Fuzhou. Two volunteers from the institute, Tony and Yolanda, accompanied us on our trip to Drum Mountain, a tourist spot located in the hills at an elevation of about 1,000 Feet. There are three temples with different postures of Buddha protected by two faced guardians sitting on his left and right. A standing Buddha overlooks the temples.