Stories From My Students

My English major students had a one on one interview with me for their final exam. It took a long time to interview all 120 students, but I actually really enjoyed doing it. I asked them to talk about their childhoods, and they said fascinating things that gave me great insight into the culture here. A brief overview of some of the things I learned:

1. Roughly 75% of my students referenced having at least one brother or sister. One guy even knew how much the fine was his parents paid when he was born. He said it proudly, "I cost 3,000 yuan. I'm glad I'm here." I was really surprised at how many students are not only children. (Many of my students come from poorer areas and small villages and I think a higher ratio of people in these areas are exempt from the one child law.)

2. Several of them said when they were younger, they had little flower and vegetable gardens they cared for, and this is what they did for fun. They planted the flowers and veggies themselves. I asked them how they learned to be a gardener, and they couldn't tell me; they said it was just something they figured out how to do. They found the seeds themselves to plant, they didn't buy them. I was really impressed they did this.

3. Only one student mentioned having a tv while growing up, and only one mentioned playing arcade games. The rest of the students said they didn't have any toys to play with; instead, they played in the river near their village or played outside games with their friends. They stole food from peasant farmers or tended their own little gardens. One of them said, "I bet your childhood in America was not like mine." Nope.

4. Many students had parents that had to leave the village and go to a bigger city to find work. As a result, they were raised by their grandparents or other close relatives. Several mentioned they don't have a close relationship with their parents because the parents weren't around when they were growing up. But the money their parents earned is what enables them to go to college, so they are grateful for what their parents did.

5. The students said their favorite time of year was Spring Festival, aka the Chinese New Year. They said this holiday was more special when they were younger because it was the only time of year they received new clothes and could eat a lot of meat; now that China has opened up to the West and is more prosperous, they can get new clothes and meat throughout the year, and the holiday is not as meaningful in this regard. I didn't realize they only received new clothes once a year. It made me understand more why they have the tradition of wearing the same clothes for several days in a row here.

My students will move on next year and I will no longer be their teacher. I'm really going to miss them. They have taught me more about China than I think I could ever learn from a book. They have faced challenges in their journeys from small village to big city university, and I hope their tenacity leads them to great things in their futures. I am blessed to have been a small part of their journey.