Interview with Tom Kennedy | Studying in China
Tom Kennedy grew up in Massachusetts where he studied Latin, French and Spanish in high school. He later majored in Chinese Language and Literature at UMass in Amherst. In addition to learning Chinese, he also took electives in Japanese, Hebrew, Old English, and Ancient Greek. While at UMass he spent a semester in China. He currently interns as a project manager at Language Connections, so he also work closely together with providers of Chinese interpretation and translation services, where he shared his experiences from his semester in China.
Q1: Where in China did you study?
A1: I spent one semester during my junior year in college from February to June. We arrived just at the beginning of the Chinese New Year, a very special time to be in China. I spent the majority of my time living in the capital city Beijing, with the exception of spring break during which time I visited South Korea for one week, along with a couple of excursions to the to the Great Wall and Pingyao.
As a participant in CET*, a special language program for foreign college students, my classmates and I were given a dorm space which was located beside our classroom building on the campus of the Beijing Institute of Education. This dorm was shared with Chinese students attending the university, which gave us the opportunity to interact and learn from each other.
Q2: What was most challenging about learning Chinese?
A2: Every language has its own challenges. Although Chinese grammar is not as complicated as the romance languages, there are fewer books available in English that clearly and thoroughly explain it, making paying close attention to the teacher’s oral instruction all the more important. Additionally, Chinese has much less vocabulary in common with English, i.e. more words that come from different roots.
This makes it more challenging than for example other Latin-derived languages such as Spanish or French, that share many words with English. Of course, these vocabulary differences make Chinese all the more interesting to learn, as do the allusions to Chinese culture and history that permeate the language in the same way European history and philosophy have influenced the English language.
Q3: What was most different about living in China?
A3: It was my first time living abroad for an extended period of time, and maintaining the pledge to speak only in Chinese at all times, a requirement of my program, was certainly challenging. Among the biggest differences were the sub par bathrooms and the internet system in China (slower, no access to Facebook or Twitter). In addition, since I am a vegetarian I had to be really careful when ordering at restaurants.
On a couple of excursions to places outside of Beijing I discovered that hotels in China do not necessarily offer a separate bed for each guest, but only one large bed which all occupants must share. Also, pedestrians do not have the right of way in China at all, especially in Beijing. So, if you are planning on visiting Beijing, keep in mind that crossing the street can be quite an adventure!
Q4: Did you have any unusual experiences while studying in China?
A4: There is one time that stands out in my mind. I usually traveled by taxi when I was alone since it was easier than navigating the public transit system. Once I was returning to the dorm at night, I tried to tell the taxi driver that I wanted to go to the zoo. To me this seemed like a good plan because the zoo was only a couple of blocks from my dorm, but unfortunately taxi drivers weren’t expecting to take anyone the zoo at night.
In any case they could not understand what I said because of my American accent. I finally made it home after showing the 3rd or 4th taxi driver a passage about the zoo in my guidebook. But this was only after encountering two young ladies who upon seeing that I was lost suddenly realized that they were in dire need of money for dinner which only I could generously provide and after receiving said funds, remembered that they also needed money for a hotel.
Q5: What surprised you the most about China?
A5: I found China to be much more westernized (with fast food chains like Kentucky Fried Chicken) and capitalistic than I had expected. Also, I learned that there were more nuances to Chinese policies than I realized. For example, there are several exceptions to the one child policy: if both parents are only children, or if the parents belong to a Chinese minority, they are allowed to have more than one child.
People were also quite open-minded despite constant government censorship. In some cases they were more in agreement with common western values. For example, I had thought that Chinese people would be sympathetic to Japanese whaling practices because they would see protests against it as efforts by outsiders to interfere with internal policy. But I learned that most Chinese people oppose whaling for the same ecological reasons as many Americans.
Q6: How would you compare studying in China with the U. S.?
A6: The Chinese education system differs significantly from the American system in several ways. Although standardized tests are also common in the United States, in China the “Gao Kao” or the college entrance exam is the only criterion used for entrance into university. Also, there tends to be a greater emphasis on memorization versus critical thinking, and a big focus on learning slogans.
One very common slogan taught in school is “Hao hao xuexi Tiantian xiang shang” which literally means “Good good study, day day up” but is perhaps better translated as “study hard, improve every day”. Unlike in the United States, children spend 11 hours a day in school, and they start learning English at age 6. By the time they start their senior year in college they are already working in their field.
Q7: Would you recommend studying in China to others? Why or why not?
A7: If you are just interested in getting a quick taste of East Asian culture I would recommend South Korea over China because its culture has been visibly influenced by both China and Japan and it is very accommodating to tourists. If you are interested specifically in China then what region you go depends on your area of interest.
I wanted to learn the most standard form of Mandarin so I visited Beijing where it is the locals’ native dialect. If you are interested in martial arts, it would make more sense to visit the Shaolin temples in Henan province, and Shanghai would be the best place for someone interested in seeing China’s economic achievements. For me learning about China from the people who live there was the most valuable part of my experience, and why I would recommend it to others interested in studying abroad in a foreign country.
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