Interim

- Language Notes -

Click to see my notes

Throughout the majority of our time in China, we were assigned language tasks. These tasks usually asked us to go to a certain place and interact with the locals. We would then talk about what happened with the task, the next class. We had class with Chinese teachers from ECNU and would speak mostly in Chinese.

- Ethnographic Observations -

See My Notes Summary

Over the time we were in Shanghai, we were assigned to visit a coffee shop of choice three times and take notes. We chose a coffee shop inside Global Harbor in Shanghai. It was very interesting to compare the coffee shop to ones back home! My partner and I also really enjoyed looking at the fashion trends of people in the shop.

- Final Reflection Essay -

When being in a new place, talking to the locals is the best way to get to know something more about the world. This month we visited many new sites, saw many tourist attractions, and traveled many miles. However, what impacted me the most was the interactions I had with people and being able to use a new language. Before this trip I never fully grasped how powerful of a tool language is.

When I first walked into this trip, I was very nervous and scared to use my Chinese. The language tasks were stressful for me since we needed to talk to people in Chinese and I was not confident in my speaking and understanding abilities. Although some of the conversations were a little difficult to engage in, they were the most meaningful moments of my trip.

One of the first languages tasks where Lauren and I went to Tian Zi Fang made me excited for interacting with people. We met this lady who owned a photography shop. She asked us where we were from and was happy to help us with our homework. When she spoke to us in Chinese, she spoke clearly and used hand gestures so that we could understand her. She said that she liked her job because she can see all the different tourists that come through there. After that she gave us advice and candy. This moment made me excited for interacting with people. Her excitement to meet us and passion for meeting others made me happy and wholesome and I realized this trip was a special opportunity to engage.

Several people on this trip were excited I spoke Chinese. When Lauren and I walked into a furniture store, one worker was excited to show us around and encouraged us for speaking a little Chinese. She was happy to show us the American styled room of the furniture store and asked us if it was similar to what we have at home. This lady was very kind to us and it was interesting to see the Chinese perception of American style. Another time when I ordered a smoothie, the older man I ordered from asked if I was s student and said my Chinese was very good. He said other things I couldn’t understand, but he was smiling a lot so it made me excited.

Having several people approach me for being white was also interesting. When Lauren and I were at the Bund, several groups wanted to take pictures with us. These funny interactions were what made our day. Another time at the grocery store, an old lady came up to us and asked where we were from. We could barely understand her but we told her we were students from America studying Chinese. Although we couldn’t say much more since her questions has such a thick accent, we smiled and parted ways feeling honored to be interested in.

Asked For Pictures

While a lot of my interactions with people stemmed from being white, I still think if someone is in a foreign country they should also try to get talking to people other than moments where people recognize you are foreign. One special moment for us was when we jumped into a basketball game with some older Chinese men. Laruen, Monique, and I walked onto the basketball courts on campus and asked to play with the men. One of the men joined us as a team and we played three of his friends. He knew a little English and would occasionally say “good defense” or “shoot!” but other than that we spoke to his friends in Chinese to tell them we were American and our majors. By the end of the game, everyone had fun playing and we took a group picture. It was intimidating walking onto the courts in the first place, but afterward it payed off because our basketball game was a memory I will not forget.

The bAsketball team

Being able to talk to the locals is also more informative. When we were at the marriage mart, a young boy came up to a group of us and asked if he could practice his English with us. We talked about his schooling and hobbies. He said that his parents picked a good public school to go to. We realized after talking to him how public schools are seen as higher end and more competitive. We also asked him about the marriage mart and if it was successful or not. He smiled and laughingly said it doesn’t work and is for the failures. He said he comes to the area to meet foreigners and practice his English. Talking to this young boy, we learned more than we would have by simply going to the marriage mart and assuming more people went there than he said. We also learned about public schooling and how locals viewed the area as a place to see foreigners.

Kevin From The Marriage mart

While being able to speak a common language is handy, also using nonverbals to interact is still valuable. When in China, I regularly went to the same fruit stand on campus. While I only needed to hand the man running the stand the fruit I wanted, every time I came he greeted me with this huge smile. Also when I bought flowers from a small flower shop, the lady checking me out flashed me a huge grin. In Japan, every time checking out of 7/11 the way the workers would bow slightly and smile felt so welcoming and polite. These little nonverbals meant a lot to me because feeling welcomed made my day.

While nonverbals are important, I also realized just how powerful language is when I went to Japan. Going from being able to speak a little bit of the local language to none at all was a shock. I realized how much I was missing out on in Japan that I was able to engage with in China. While at first in China I felt I couldn’t speak, by the end of the trip I felt I was able to get across most points I needed to in a foreign language. In Japan using nothing other than “thank you” and “excuse me” was intimidating. There were several moments I wanted to say something very simple and not knowing how felt frustrating.

When Keiko shared her story in Hiroshima, I also realized just how powerful language is. Her whole story was very moving in the first place. However, at the end of her story when she said her reason for learning English was because her dad couldn’t read the labels and accidentally got his starving family cherries, it made me tear up. I realized just how much she is able to do now and how she is able to touch so many more people since she can speak English. Had she not spoken English, I never would have felt as moved as I did hearing it from her in person.

Class with keiko

Overall, talking to the locals and interacting with new people abroad is a priceless opportunity. Not only does talking to the locals give more accurate information about a place, but being able to speak the same language as someone is powerful. Not only speaking but interacting with people with a little language or nonverbals is still meaningful. While we saw many things, these little interactions with everyday people will be what I always remember as the highlight of my trip.