So What Do Peace Corps Volunteers in China Do, Anyway?

I know from this blog it seems like all I do is fight with taxi drivers and hang out with my friends, but I do Peace Corps stuff too. For those of you wondering what Peace Corps does in China, this is your lucky day!

-Peace Corps has different job categories in different countries, such as teaching, business development, agriculture, social services, and healthcare. In China, all we do is teaching. The Chinese government forbids us being involved with any other type of work while we are here.

-This program started in the early 90’s on a trial basis. A few years later, a contract was signed. As part of the contract, the Chinese Ministry of Education decides where to place volunteers. This is unique; in most countries, the Peace Corps decides where to place volunteers.

-Our first priority is to teach English courses at universities in three provinces (Gansu, Sichuan and Guizhou) and one municipality (Chongqing, where I am). These are traditionally some of the poorest parts of China. I teach Oral English, Intercultural Communication, Listening, Tourism English, Research Writing, and American Culture. We create our own syllabus and course materials.

-We also do projects on the side, such as English conversation nights on campus, English movie night, Prom/Dances (these don’t exist in China for students) and other types of activities. Some volunteers tutor at elementary schools or community places.

-We are encouraged to find side projects, and here are some of mine: I tutor business faculty in business English, I do English movie night, I have office hours for students to come talk to me informally, and I help the Howard Johnson hotel in my city with English translation. (That last one I am doing as a favor to a former English student at my university who now does the marketing for HoJo in my city.) And the odd pageant hosting job, tree planting, whatever our school asks us to be involved in.

-We don’t receive any payment for anything we do. We receive from the Peace Corps a monthly stipend for food and clothing replacement. The universities where we work give us a place to live; Peace Corps pays our rent to them directly. In some places the school provides internet and telephone services, but they don’t have to do this. We pay for our own cell phone service.

-We also spend time studying Chinese and we are encouraged to make Chinese friends and integrate into our communities. We are tested yearly on our oral Chinese proficiency. We are also tested right before we end our service, and get a certificate documenting our proficiency level for future schooling or job opportunities. 

And, of course, fight with taxi drivers and hang out with our friends and eat a lot. It’s a unique life. I’m glad I lived it for a while.