We made it home safe and sound! It was a long and wonderful journey and in many respects- life changing for my students. They had the opportunity to see China for the first time and I had the opportunity to see China again through their eyes and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Over the course of 10 days, we saw parts of Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Beijing. We experienced remarkable architecture, food, art and historic landmarks. We climbed on the Great Wall, stood atop the highest building in China, looked into the eyes of the loveable great panda and talked with Chinese administrators anxious to learn about the American model of student affairs- more specifically, leadership development and career services.
My students and staff were remarkable ambassadors for the United States and for Oklahoma State University. Everywhere we went we saw old friends, (former participants from the International Symposium on Student Affairs hosted by OSU) and made new friends. We tried new foods (some great and some, by our pallets, questionable), rode in infamous Chinese cabs through crazy traffic without screaming audibly, sang Michael Jackson tunes with a van driver who understood no English and couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket but nevertheless, made it abundantly clear how much he loved American pop music. Our laughter and singing on that van as we toured downtown Shanghai, will stand as one of my most joyful and indelible memories of the trip.
Our group endured novel bathroom experiences where water and paper products were seemingly never available at the same time in the same place. This made us appreciate our hotel rooms even more. We had the opportunity to meet with young college students and more clearly understand their fears about studying in the US. Some young people believed that all Americans were violent and disagreeable based on learning about us through music, video and TV. Others were excited to see Americans on their campus and wanted to learn more about us.
We were reminded that although this is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, it is still a communist country and things that we take for granted (access to the internet for example) are not guaranteed. Blogging was complicated in China. Rather than writing and posting our comments directly online, we had to send our information through a third party who posted our information for us. This small inconvenience was telling.
It was by all measures, a remarkable trip. We appreciated having the opportunity to see another part of our small world. The “six degrees of separation” took on new meaning as we made connections half way around the world. Thanks to our OSU orange shirts, students heard “go pokes” as they were leaving the Great Wall from a couple from Florida. While visiting the US Consulate General office in Chengdu, China, one of my students discovered that he and the new commerce officer shared much family history in common.
Vivian Wang, an OSU doctoral student helped us make all the arrangements in China- domestic travel, hotels and transportation and without her help, our trip would not have come together as it did. I would also like to thank her family in Shanghai for meeting us at the maglev train and treating us to a wonderful evening.
I remain very proud of my students and colleagues. We traveled well together and had a ball!
-Dr. Bird
No comments:
Post a Comment