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Editor's note: Under the theme of "SCNU & ME", the English Writing Contest has collected over 320 articles from 30 schools and colleges (see results). This column is specially dedicated to the award-winning works.
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By Li Shuquan
As a student majoring in English education, I have always hoped to have a chance to spread Chinese culture and language abroad. The opportunity came in the spring festival of 2018, when I joined a teaching volunteer program in Indonesia.
It's in an orphanage that I began my volunteer work. I taught the kids a brief history of China's development in simple English and Chinese, and they listened attentively, showing great interest in what I said.
"Sir, why do I see an increasing number of Chinese teachers coming to Bali to teach us Chinese?" asked one student in the class. "It's because we like to make friends with the people of Bali. We're all good friends, aren't we?" I replied sincerely. Through the interaction with the kids, I was surprised to find that schools here have attached great importance to introducing Chinese as a second foreign language into the classroom.
It reads the name of the orphanage
As the spring festival was coming, we planned to cook Chinese dishes for the children in the orphanage. In the process of shopping in the supermarket, I saw a lot of familiar products, such as Li Jinji soy sauce, Lao Gan Ma chili sauce. The products made in China have traveled across the sea to all parts of the world, and the Chinese products have long been known to the people all over the world. When the cashiers at the supermarket learnt that we was from China, they wished us a Happy New Year in Chinese with local accent, which touched our heart immediately. Though there were no Chinese Spring Festival atmosphere such as lanterns, firecrackers and lion-dancing on the streets, I could still feel the inclusiveness of Bali culture. People from different countries get together with diverse beliefs and ideas, but they know how to respect each other's culture. This is the charm of the Bali island.
We shop in the supermarket in Bali
Time flies, and the days in the orphanage have been meaningful and amazing. We communicated with the kids, using both verbal expressions and non-verbal ones, like body language and facial expressions. In just one week, the kids and I have became close friends. I came to realize that the true meaning of education lied in being recognized by others through hard work. This sense of recognition, which needn't be expressed in any material form, has been a great gift to me. It's through this voluntary activity that I hold on to my dream of being a teacher in the future.
As a student of SCNU, I've always kept in mind that a teacher's mission is to teach and educate people tirelessly. Education is a great soul transformation project which can successfully make the next generation empower themselves, thus making contributions to the well-being of mankind. Though it has been a short-time volunteer teaching, I still fully devote myself to everyday work, in the hope of living up to the standard of a teacher and conveying the voice of China to the next generation in Bali — China is a country willing to work with the world to achieve win-win cooperation and seek mutual development.
The time that I've spent in Bali during the 2018 Chinese Spring Festival has became the most unforgettable and precious memory of my life. Whenever I receive letters from the kids of the orphanage, I would read carefully, and express best wishes to them in my reply. In 2020, I will set out again to spread hope and love to more people in need in the world. The story of teaching volunteer is to be continued...
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