Letter to Students 26th September 2007

Dear Reader

I had planned to write to you in the weekend, but my family came out for a big dinner and a catch up on Sunday night, leaving me no time to sit down in a quiet space and fill you in on my news.  What have you been up to the past two weeks?

I hit the ground running on returning to New Zealand soil over a week ago.  I came straight into school, and it was so good to see everyone again.  Although I was only away for ten days, so much seemed to have changed, and I also felt like I had experienced so much in this short period of time.

Looking back over my time in the Philippines and China, I am struck by how similar people really are.  Within any culture, you find extroverts and introverts, people who are wanting to sell you products, and others who don’t really care if you buy or not!  There are the rich and poor, the good and bad, the happy and sad.  I was so fortunate to meet lots of positive people with good ideas, and with wonderful stories to share. 

It was good for me to be in China, and be reminded what it is like not to understand the language, and be reliant on others for communication.  In Manila, our Filipino agent was there to greet me on my arrival, but in China, I got through customs so efficiently that I didn’t see anyone holding up my name card as I walked down the line of waiting people.  I immediately felt the anxiety our students feel on arrival at Dunedin airport, and realized how important it is for someone to be there waiting.  By the time I walked back down the row of people, my agent was there, and I could feel the tension leave my body.  It had only been a five minute wait, but all sorts of fears flow through your brain.  As with so many of our fears, they are unfounded, and another thing I have taken from this trip is that there is no need to worry so much!  So much time is wasted on worrying about things that never happen!!  Unlike the Philippines, where so many people spoke English, I was reliant on interpreters when visiting schools, and talking with agents in China.  Having learnt European languages, I am able to follow a conversation, even if I can’t contribute anything to it.  In Japan, I am able to hold my own in a conversation, but in China, I felt frustrated that my thoughts could not be expressed immediately.  I was lucky to have someone to interpret for me always, but I wanted to speak the language immediately!  Being an impatient person, having to go away and not have instant language was totally frustrating, and I resolved to learn Chinese in my spare time!  “Yeah, right,” as they say in the Tui advertisement!  Have you seen those Tui ads?  They are very funny!

Not having a shared language does not mean that you cannot communicate, but it does make communication more limiting.  When I met Huchen’s parents in Tianjin, there was an immediate bonding through our love of Huchen, and we had the most wonderful dinner together.  I so love the Chinese food, and every meal I ate was a feast.  You can’t compare the food served in Chinese restaurants here with the food served in Tianjin!  The flavours were so clean and well balanced, with lots of fresh fish which I love.  Eating fish which you chose from a tank is the ultimate in eating fresh fish!  However, the way of killing the fish was not very subtle, and I cringed a little as I saw the fish, which had a minute earlier been happily swimming, placed in a black plastic bag and struck on the concrete floor with one blow! 

Although the flavours were clean, the same could not be said for the state of the air.  The polluted sky which greeted me in Beijing really shocked me, as much as I thought I was prepared to see it.  I am lucky that I adjust easily to my new surroundings, but I found the relentless grey of the sky, and the grime of the buildings the most difficult thing to accept.  I kept waiting for the sky to clear, to see the sun which tried so hard to shine.  You could tell it was trying to shine, and it filtered through its rays on the day I was in Beijing, but with difficulty.  One day, I was fortunate to be taken to a restaurant out in the countryside, but the chimney stacks billowing smoke from the coal fired furnaces down the road prevented me from enjoying the walk outside.  I took a photo of the chimneys, and I could tell this hit a raw nerve with my agent who asked me why I was taking such photos.  I said I hoped that this would be a part of China’s history in the future, when the country is able to slow down its development to the point where nature and progress are in harmony.  She made no comment, and there was probably nothing more to say.

On leaving Tianjin, a city of twelve million people, I didn’t know if I would be able to see Tianamen Square in Beijing.  It was something I really wanted to see, as I vividly remembered the amazing conversation I had witnessed with three of my adult Chinese students over ten years ago. At that time, these three students didn’t know each other very well, and when talk turned to the events of Tianamen Square when the army suppressed a student protest with force, it became obvious that the three of them had been in that Square at the same time.  One had been a lawyer with the government, and supported the strategy of the army; one had been a student and had seen some of his friends injured or killed; and one had been a doctor who had tended to the injured and dying.  I felt so privileged to have been present at this debate, and only wished I had recorded it.  However, to stop the debate would have been to not have it continue with such vehemence!  From that time, I had wanted to go there, and see what the place was like and try to recall the scene which they described.  I was fortunate to be dropped off in the centre of Beijing, a city which is surging ahead with new building at a phenomenal rate, and as I walked down the street, I could have been in any cosmopolitan city.  Only the number of Asian faces made me realise this was China, although Queen Street in Auckland makes me often think I am in Asia as well!!  After asking directions from a young policeman, I came upon Tianamen Square, but in the rush to have everything ready for the Beijing Olympics next year, most buildings were covered with scaffolding.  I was amazed to see that the huge NationalMuseum which overlooks the square has been demolished save for the façade.  It reminded me of a film set where nothing is quite as it seems.  Beijing is that to me, with most of its original buildings demolished, and little left of historical Beijing.  Even one of the remaining old streets which was lined with old houses felt like a film set, with few of the houses totally intact.  All in the name of progress, so they say!

Arriving at Beijing airport for my flight back home, I heard Japanese being spoken by the passengers in front of me.  I immediately engaged in conversation, and it was such a sense of relief to be speaking a language I knew!!  Arriving home to a glorious clear blue sky made me smile, and further appreciate the beautiful city of Dunedin which I am lucky to call home.  However, I value what other countries have to offer, and love the diversity of language and culture which makes up this special world.

I was sent this poem by one of the people I met in the Philippines and would like to share it with you.

The Most Beautiful Rainbow

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that
wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You
will have your heart broken probably more than once and
it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so
remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight
with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things
an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast,
and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too
many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never
been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset
is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Don't be
afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never
begin.

Love each precious day to the full.

Love

Sharron