[My Story with GDUFS] My Chinese Harvest

Today is a bright blue, white puffy cloud day in Mink Creek, Idaho. At this elevation, it can be 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and a cool 39 by evening. I’ve been hoeing and watering my garden for weeks, protecting it from heat and cold and hungry birds that want to eat my delicious strawberries as much as I do. My labors have paid off, I’m picking ruby-red berries and young firm squash and tonight they will satisfy my hunger.

I would say that it is a year much like any other year, except it isn’t. When I work in the dry heat of my mountain home, I think back on the wet, steamy heat of Guangzhou. When I pick my fresh vegetables, I remember the spectacular bounty and color of the fresh markets near campus. When I put groceries in the trunk of my car, I fondly think of stacking them in the basket of my bicycle. No, my life will never be the same again because of my year spent at GDUFS. Thoughts of my students fill my heart with a harvest full of memories that bring both a smile to my face, and an ache to my heart.

I went as a gardener, a planter sowing the seeds of my culture through the richness of my English language, but I was the one who reaped the grandest harvest. I learned so much! China’s roots are deep. The loyalty to tradition is strong and gave my students a firm foundation to build on. They have different roots than mine and we cling to different things. But although we are buried in different soil, we seem to be stretching and reaching for the same heights.

I found teaching very rewarding. I had moments when I felt so connected with the students and words just flowed, and then I had not so extraordinary moments when I’m sure I totally lost their interest, but I was never afraid, never nervous; it was all very natural for me. I had a very hard time remembering their names: 180 students with long black hair and glasses and faces that I saw only once a week didn’t offer my aging memory any aid in distinguishing between them, but they were eager to learn, willing to express and share their own culture, and so capable of doing it in a second language. I still stand amazed at the brilliance and possibilities I saw in each one. I listened enthralled through the speech contest, wept through the dubbed plays, and was delighted in seeing my students on stage wearing all the bling and glamour of their evening dress. I had a hard time recognizing them from how they looked in class. Even after a year with them, I realized how little I knew of each one and how I longed to know them better.

As we discussed things in class, it became obvious that we are developing a global culture. The entertainment industry has supplied us with common ground. My students and I could quote movie lines to each other. We could laugh at the antics of the TV personalities we all knew. Unfortunately, the entertainment industry is not an honest representation of real life. There were many times I had to remind them that Hollywood does not take pictures of everyday life in the U.S. and that our media can skew the truth and present any perspective and agenda it wants. I think it is up to education to ensure that there is a real cultural exchange and a mutual effort to understand each other.

I loved my home at GDUFS. I’ve traded palm trees for pine trees now. I came away from Guangwai richer for the experience, and I am sure that the world will be in capable and caring hands as this generation takes its place in industry, government and education. I’m positive that as my students carry into the workplace the same vibrant integrity they displayed in the classroom, China will help the world reap a bounteous harvest.