Sight Seeing and Giving Back

Shameless selfie with the Bund

Last weekend I finally got to see the Bund. The Bund is one of the most notorious regions of Shanghai, where its first development began. There are rows of prestigious banks and business offices lining one side of the Huangpo river, while the other side boasts some of the most impressive architecture I have ever seen. At night, all of the buildings are lit up and the sight of it is surreal and can take your breath away in seconds. My friends and I visited the Bund in daylight after a leisurely day of shopping in People's Square. People's Square reminds me of Times Square in New York City, with big colorful lights and a bustling atmosphere. After we saw the incredible views of the Bund in daylight, we knew we had to stay to see it lit up at night---and we definitely made the right decision. Everywhere we walked along the Bund, Chinese people asked to take pictures with us, and if we were posing in a picture together there were at least 3 other people snapping a picture of our pose. At this point its safe to say that my face is littered all over China's camera rolls, but it's all in good fun.

The Bund & crew at night

People's Square

Today (Wednesday 3/18) I finally got to give back to the country that has already given me so much. I joined a volunteer associated called "Stepping Stones," and it has already been an incredible experience. Shanghai has an extremely large migrant population, including workers who leave their rural hometowns to come to Shanghai to make a living for their family. Often times the children of these families struggle, as they lack stability and proper education. English is one of the three core subjects in the Chinese primary education system and is also considered the most challenging subject for rural teachers. On the Stepping Stones website they describe the discrepancies of education here perfectly. "English level is the biggest differentiator between urban and rural Chinese children, and this above all perpetuates the gap in educational and employment opportunities."

After hearing about this wonderful organization, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get more involved here in Shanghai. After attending a 4 hour training session, I was accepted to be a teacher for a Fourth Grade class in a school called HLH2. After my Chinese class this morning, I headed out to the subway to navigate myself out of the main city of Shanghai towards the outskirts of town. I hopped on the 3/4 line towards Zhongshan Park where I then switched over to the 2nd line for 6 more stops. Finally I arrived at my destination and hailed a taxi to take me the remaining 2 miles to the school. While driving towards the primary school I watched as the city I knew disappeared. There were no more impressive sky scrapers or men in business suits. The streets were run down and the air quality was noticeably worse. My heart ached a bit to think that these children attend school here everyday and it is a privilege that they do. 

My goofballs

As soon as I entered the school grounds a pair of Chinese men in guard outfits approached me with big smiles on their faces. They asked me some question in Chinese but all I could decipher was the word "ma" which is essentially a question mark. So I just smiled back and said "Wo shi yi ge Yingwen lao shi" (I am an English teacher) and they nodded and brought me towards my class. The school was huge. Almost 4 floors filled with countless classrooms and I could hear the children yelling throughout every floor. I was led up to my classroom where the kids giggled and waved at me "HAALLOO!" they screamed in their best English...clearly eager to learn. 

Temple rub during the song

I was certainly nervous that the kids would laugh at me, take advantage of me, or tell that I could barely speak Chinese...but none of that happened. They all seemed just as excited as me and when I took the front of the room the class went silent. Suddenly music came over the loudspeaker counting to 10 in Chinese and the students all closed their eyes and rubbed their temples. *Odd...* I thought, but maybe they would think that our Pledge of the Allegiance at the start of the school day is odd. 

My lesson was about fruits and senses, focusing on seeing and tasting food. The children yelled back at me "LEMON!!" when I held up a big picture of the round yellow fruit. I taught two 40-minute classes and the time flew by in both sessions. I left with a sense of accomplishment and the beginning of a very strong bond. I cannot wait to see where this program will take me. 

Me & my class