The Guizhou Experience - CEAIE Feedback

Me Being Teacher-ey

 I was asked to feed back on the experience of working in Guizhou Province for the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) outlining the good things about working as a foreigner in this part of the world. I was asked to keep it positive so this isn't the whole story but there was plenty to write about. Here it is:

"My name is Stephen Higham and I have been teaching in Guizhou Province for the past 8 months. I teach in the Qiannan Normal College of Nationalities which has been a rewarding and exciting experience. Perhaps the best thing about teaching in this region is the amount of opportunities there are for a foreigner. It seems as though each month brings me the chance to do something new and interesting. I have sung in concert to around 1000 audience members, had the chance to travel to different areas and lecture about British culture and I have appeared in an episode of Chinese television. All of this is in addition to teaching 200 Freshman students, it has been a joy getting to know a number of them well.

I have been treated very well by the university and its staff. We are invited to banquets, provided with extra money to buy lunch on campus and we have also made friends with a number of our Chinese coworkers. It feels great to walk around campus and be greeted happily by students and teachers alike. We are truly a part of the faculty.

The Guizhou landscape is incredible - the dramatic, rolling hills have proved unforgettable since we drove through them when we first arrived - and the fledgling “International City” of Duyun is no exception. Whilst it is very interesting to live in a city that doesn’t have a Starbucks there is no lack of things to do here. During our first week living in Duyun, a student took us on a tour of the city, through the underground supermarket up to a monastery on a hill, still in the process of being built. A monk invited us to stay for tea and chat. This was one of the first instances when we realised how hospitable some of the local people are, even with a language barrier in place.

Duyun is just small enough that one can feel as though they are a part of a community. I love coffee and have frequented most of the coffee shops in the city, there are waiters and waitresses in all of them who are pleased to see me when I come in. They remember my regular orders and are keen to share what little English they have with me and I am happy to share my minuscule amount of Chinese with them. I also sometimes see students walking around the city who are always very excited to tell me about their days. On our street there are a number of business owners; dumpling vendors, stationary shop workers and restaurant owners who are overjoyed to have regular foreign customers. It has been an important part of creating this home-from-home.

The Guizhou experience is a great opportunity for English teachers. What there is here in challenges is made up for in opportunities and a strong sense of Chinese hospitality. It’s not hard to see why there is a small but strong community of laowai who have made this area their home."

Callum Being Teacher-ey

Later I received a reply from CEAIE asking me to outline more specifically my experience of the university in a paragraph. I thought I had so I just plucked the university references and rearranged them like this.

"The Qiannan Normal College has proved very hospitable. During our first semester I taught Listening, Reading and spoken English to Freshmen students which was a challenge but not too difficult. The teachers at the university are very welcoming and have given me support when I asked for it. For the most part, however lessons are left solely up to the teacher who has a great deal of freedom in the classroom. I mostly work from textbooks which were provided by the university which add structure to the syllabus. There is also a good deal of opportunities available for us, working here. We have been offered the chance to make extra money through the university working in kindergarten, as personal tutors, as lecturers and as television extras. Staff are also given extra money on touch-cards to help pay for their meals which are available on campus from a great number of high quality restaurants and stalls."

What fun.