After a mind-numbing, five-flight journey from Peru to China, we finally arrived in Kunming, a city of 5 million people located in China’s Yunnan province. We were immediately served a “light” lunch (and, no, they do not serve Fortune Cookies after meals) and then left for orientation in Tonghai, a town two hours north of Kunming. Walking among Buddhist temples, we felt the strong presence of a society and culture that has existed for over 5,000 years. After observing classes in Kunming for two days, we began teaching middle and high school students. Our goal was to give Chinese students the opportunity to converse with native English speakers and learn about American culture. During the two weeks we taught, we learned a lot about the Chinese education system and the role education plays in a developing country.
As supplements to our teaching classes, we took Chinese classes every day. Our seminars by Chinese university professors included: the history of education in China; minority education in China; policy, economic growth and education in China; three generations of education in China; and education for the disabled in China. We also delved deeper into the theory and philosophy of education through our reading and discussions of Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire. On the weekends we explored the city; we found beautiful parks and crowded markets with traditional Chinese dance, martial arts, music and crafts. Our home-stays afforded us the opportunity to encounter life in a Chinese family and eat wonderful, home-cooked meals.
For our final week in China, we traveled ten hours by bus to Shaxi, a farming village of the Bai people. Through our home-stays and teaching in the local middle school, we witnessed both the similarities and differences in lifestyle and education between rural and urban areas.