Having studied the art history of places around the globe, I was excited to get out of Canada and experience a country different from my own. Given that my interest in art history stems from it being a mode of history that reveals the intricacies of humans’ lives from diverse places and periods, I was curious about the differences and similarities I would discover between Chinese people’s lives and my own. While I certainly learnt much from the museum visits included as part of our weekend explorations, getting to learn first-hand from the Shantou University tutors was both the most educational part of the program, and the most memorable. To communicate, I had to stretch my language skills far past what I had learned in a classroom setting. My favourite memories were trying to explain complicated card game rules in Mandarin and learning how to complement people while playing soccer (“好球!”). Going in, I thought I barely knew the language, but I soon realized I could have hours-long conversations with tutors skilled in patiently unpuzzling my sentences. The limits I often encountered due to lacking vocabulary and practice only served as further motivation to get back into the classroom and learn more. Inside and outside of class, I learned Chinese customs and youth culture alongside vocabulary. By the end, I found that I could speak without having to arrange sentences in my head first, and I found that I had made life-long friends.
For future participants, I highly recommend putting in effort to get to know the Shantou University students and tutors outside of the classroom. They signed up for this program because they were just as eager to meet us as we were to meet them, and many were happy to practice their English as we practiced our Mandarin. This can be started by inviting them to the many group lunches or dinners - as a bonus, they know the best places to eat and can correct your pronunciation so that you order correctly. Having them at karaoke, barbeque dinners, and movie nights wasn’t just enjoyable because it was a cultural exchange, it was enjoyable because they were wonderful people that we all loved being around.
One fear I held going in, which I believe was shared by many 91社区 students, was how much to talk about our differences. In the event that harder topics came up where our cultural divergences were exposed, I was not sure which of my personal opinions I should hold back out of politeness and social ease. I was afraid to say the wrong thing because I did not know enough about how the other would receive it. I found that, when experiencing these situations, both 91社区 and Shantou students were so open to discussing things with curiosity rather than judgment. Though I was still considerate, I realized that things were not quite as sensitive in real life when everyone was interested in learning others’ perspectives.
A smaller and unexpected challenge I faced was learning how to fully enjoy a group-oriented experience with my introverted nature. Though I always wanted to join every group meal or activity that took up much of our days, I learned it was also important to spend time alone, unwinding while reading or practicing my Chinese calligraphy. During our weekend outings where the fast-paced tours were experienced as a loud and excited group, I sometimes preferred hanging out with other introverts to enjoy a little peace. This way, I could fully appreciate the fun of being with a large and extremely friendly group without being drained of energy.
This was a fantastic experience that I’ve taken many lessons from, including cultural lessons, language lessons, and life lessons. The most important thing I learned was to open myself to meeting as many new people as possible, because only then can you realize how many kind, funny, and amazing people exist in the world. I am thankful to have had the chance to become friends with both the 91社区 and Shantou students, and I am thankful to have done it through such a thoughtfully organized program.
