Alex in China

I was told by my beautiful and (lovingly) blunt mom this morning that it was about time I wrote a post updating everyone on life. I know I’ve been doing a lot of cultural posts lately but it’s kind of important I do those since this blog is being used as my independent research in China (and will determine my grade!).

So, in order to satisfy my mom’s need for an update and Tio’s need for cultural journaling…I’m doing both in one post! I’ve got pictures, descriptions, and cultural observations all thrown into one package (no extra charge)

Where to start, where to start…how about where I left off a few posts ago, our internships. Our official last day at the Olympic Call Center will be tomorrow. Even though we haven’t been there a long time, I know I’ll miss our new friends. We’ve been able to watch as they went from the training phase, to the testing phase, and finally open to the public. Our boss, Sunny, has managed the whole operation brilliantly while also finding time to entertain three rambunctious Americans (us!)

The call center really is a unique place, it’s the first of it’s kind in China. Probably the most interesting part about it though is the potential future it has after the Olympics. Lots of money has been poured into the center and it simply wouldn’t make sense to shut it down after the Olympics. Not to mention they’ve already set up an extremely effective system ran by well trained volunteers, there’s a lot of potential behind the center. Luckily, Sunny has planned long term and was able to secure government funding to keep the center running after the Olympics is over. At that point the call center will change it’s focus from Olympic tourists to city tourists. If you take this situation apart and analyze it you can really get a good idea of what the Chinese government is planning for the future. To be giving money to the center implies that they believe there is actual need for the center after the Olympic tourists have left. Qingdao is considered one of the most beautiful coastal cities in China, an ideal tourist location. As China continues to grow and make a presence there is sure to be an influx of tourists to the country and China is planning ahead. I’m just glad that Sunny was able to secure funding, I really see big things for them in the future…who knows, maybe I’ll get the chance to work with them again in the future.

In our time with the call center, we’ve received a lot of media attention. Sunny likes to joke that we’re the most upcoming Chinese celebrities, but she’s not completely kidding. The three of us have been featured in six newspapers, several news stations, and a “movie” that will be shown to promote the Olympic spirit. All of this media has brought a lot of press attention to the call center so it’s been well worth our time.

Our director and Abigale (our amazing translator)

Action!

In my spare time I’ve been working with Joel, teaching English to a young Chinese boy named Kevin. Actually, I really shouldn’t use the word teach, the kid is amazingly fluent for his age. Every week we meet with him and hold English discussions to hone his speech skills…and every week he amazes me further with how much he knows. Not only is he knowledgeable, he’s mature. I wish I had had half of his maturity when I was his age. The kid is amazing, he’s sort of become Joel and I’s little Chinese brother while we’ve been here and I’ll miss our discussions with him when we leave.

Kevin is a great example of what to expect from the upcoming generation of Chinese youth. Because of the “one-child” policy here, it seems that parents have more time and money to spend on their kids. On top of an education system that already stresses the importance of learning English at a young age, many kids (such as Kevin) are able to go to secondary schools to further their English skills. I feel like that one of the major flaws in the US education system isn’t our science courses or our math courses…but our language programs. We have this idea that it’s “ok” not to put emphasis on language because “everyone else already speaks English”. This, in my mind, is the kind of thinking that will lead to a day where English is no longer seen as the primary language. We can’t simply allow ourselves to become lazy and survive off the fact that we’re America…go out into the world, expose yourself to a new culture, and become adaptive.

Speaking of adaptive, I’m really going to miss living in the middle of a busy city. It was tiring at first, having to bus everywhere and pushing your way through the masses of people…but I think it’s grown on me. I like the energy, the culture, the pulse of the city. I’ve thought a lot in the past about how much I would like to live in a city like NYC, LA, or Washington DC. I decided Qingdao would be a good test to see if I enjoyed the city life and it feels like I “passed the test”. So who knows, maybe that’ll be something that happens after I’m done with undergrad…graduate school perhaps?

Enough about the future though. I’ve still got four days in China and we’ve got plenty planned to keep us busy . There’s shopping to do, Chinese dishes to eat and a plethora of cultural sites we want to see before we head out. Our flight back to the states is this Wednesday and we arrive in TX on August 7th. It’s kind of a bittersweet feeling to know that we’ll be back home within a few days. As much as I love China (and will miss it), there is definitely a part of me that is ready to be back with my friends and family. Until then though, there’s still four days to take advantage of and enjoy! -a