Student Stories
It’s amazing how magical a child’s smile is. One little tiny crooked smile has the power to melt away all of your worries and anxieties. On one of our CIEE field trips, we visited an elementary school for migrant workers’ children. If it weren’t for a thin, slightly cross-eyed, overworked Chinese man with a beautiful soul who went into debt to open this school, children from the countryside wouldn’t have the opportunity to attend school. The Chinese government prohibits migrant children from attending public schools in the city.
When we first got off the bus, we were a little confused – all we saw was a huge field of rubble with bulldozers razing down tiny structures. As we passed mountains of broken bricks and heaps of rusted metal pipes, we looked for any signs of a school nearby. After about 50 meters, we heard the universally familiar shouts of children at play. The “school” was amidst a field of rubble and the schoolrooms looked like they were about to fall apart. But the hearts of the dedicated teachers and schoolmaster keep the school alive.
We split into 2 groups and visited the 4th and 5th graders. We had no idea what to do with the children, but it was as if this automatic teacher in me came out and I began leading the class. I’d never felt so natural in front of a group of children before. We taught them “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, sang the ABC song, taught them some new words, and played a guessing game in English. It was amazing how enthusiastic and thirsty to learn these children were—even when the bell rang for recess, they didn’t want to leave the room. At the end of the hour, the girls showered me with flowers and the boys got up and shook my hand and said, “Thank you, teacher”.
In China I’d been concentrating on my Chinese studies. But this field trip, as well as other excursions we took later in the semester, reminded me that my study abroad experience can go beyond the classroom and that I can always learn something from anyone. It was encouraging to see children uninhibited by the constraints of the modern materialistic world; they seemed so honest and connected to the natural world around them. A little pebble provided hours of entertainment, a couple of new English words satisfied eager learners. It made me reflect on my own life. I may have taught them a few new English words, but they showed me a new way to embrace the simple joys of life.
— Larissa Hsia-Wong, Georgetown University
I was surrounded by sugarcane fields on all sides, filled with farmers toiling away. The market was bustling with local merchants selling chickens, rice, and vegetables freshly picked from their personal fields. Old men were busy sharpening their scissors, preparing to give their next haircut. This place was easily a destination in itself, however, it was not the destination I was looking for. I was traveling alone for the first time in my life, and now I was lost.
Not sure what to do next, I started walking towards the next river town, roughly an hour by bus. I figured I would catch the next bus I came across. It was not an easy task avoiding attention: I was the only foreigner within thirty miles, wandering aimlessly through Guangxi countryside. It was then that I literally ran into an old man. He must have only been five feet tall, his skin permanently tanned from his days in the fields, and wrinkles surrounding his mysterious eyes reflecting the life that he had led. I was immediately adopted. We walked for about a mile talking about the area, or mostly me acting as if I understood the old, southwestern dialect he was speaking. Suddenly, in clear Mandarin, he asked me to go into his house for lunch. What?! Was this safe? I was lost, preparing to hitchhike on a bus, and now being asked into lunch. All things considered, why not?
I ended up spending the entire day with this farmer and his family. For lunch we ate rice and sugarcane that was planted and raised by him. After lunch, we joined his brother and friends for tea. All the ingredients were freshly picked from his garden, and we sat for hours discussing family, friends, and travels. As it started to get late, I decided to get back to my hostel. Before I went, the farmer and his niece took me to their sugarcane fields and gave me two stalks of sugarcane to remember them by.
China is a country of endless possibilities. Just when I thought I had nowhere to go and nothing to do, China surprised me. It reminded me to get out of my own comfort zone and to take advantage of the adventures that find me. This country is becoming ever more important in the world, and is not only shaping who I am, but is shaping the direction of the world. But no matter where it goes, or how much it changes, I will always remember fondly the year that I spent with CIEE in Nanjing and the opportunities and experiences it rewarded me with.
— Brittany Smith, University of Colorado at Boulder