Interview: Joel Teaches in China!

It always amazes me how many adventures in the world go unpublished, or unheard of, except for in a select group. These adventures, or journeys, are not usually published by mass media, or undergone by famous people with millions of dollars or followers--but by those we know--our neighbors, our friends, our family.

This is one such journey, that I wanted to help make known, to share with others.

A great Christian friend of mine, Joel Patrick Henderson, 23, recently underwent a 10 month journey to China, to help with a E.S.L. (English as a Second Language) program and mission. Upon his return, I interviewed him with some questions about his adventure, which was far from ordinary...

QUESTION : So, what made you decide to go to China?

JOEL: Well, I was almost finished getting a BA in Philosophy, which meant I had no prospect for a job, at least without further education. I was praying about some opportunity, but I didn't really have a direction. Part of me wanted to get away for a while, but that requires lots of money. Some friends suggested traveling with a volunteer group. I was like, "whatever." I didn't think it would work too well. Well, I was wrong! I looked into a volunteer group; it was ideal for me because a) I got to travel, b) it was meaningful, and c) it didn't require me to have money saved up, which I didn't!
I would've been willing to go anywhere, but China is just the place where I found an opportunity. I was to go over there as an English teacher for almost a year. I fit the requirements, and although it didn't seem like it would work out even up to the day I left (I even missed my flight!), it did work out. I was willing to go, and God blessed it.

Q: Had you ever been overseas before? Do you remember your first reaction upon stepping foot in a "new land?"

J.: I had never been overseas, no. Before this, I'd only been to Canada, twice. When I got there, I first arrived in Shanghai airport, just to transfer to Beijing. I couldn't believe I was on another continent, on the opposite side of the world. Until then Asia was just something on the news or in a textbook, but now it was actually a place.
It was so cool! Everything I did, I noted: 'This is my first time walking in Asia...', 'This is my first time eating lunch in Asia...', etc. It was exciting. There was just a completely different feeling--everything seemed new.

Q: What places did you get to visit whilst on your 10-month stint overseas? Which was your favorite (if you have one!)?

J.: in China, I lived in Beijing, so I got to explore there quite a bit. I visited Chengdu, in Sichuan, the native place of Panda Bears; Xi'an, with it's "army" of more than 6,000 terra-cotta warriors; Harbin, which is not too far from Russia, and where they make full-sized buildings out of snow and ice (for tourists); and Hohhot, which is in the Mongolian part of China.
Of these places, I love Harbin, because it was the stuff dreams are made of--even if it was an average of -30* degrees. Chengdu was beautiful, if you like nature! Beijing and Xi'an were good for history lovers. Hohhot was very different, since it was Mongolian, but I loved eating in the 'yerts', which are little buildings shaped like Hershey's Kisses, and would only hold one small group in each.
I also spent a little time in Thailand and Cambodia, which was awesome. But Thailand is very touristy, and Cambodia was a bit depressing, with its utter poverty surrounding these grand, palace-like hotels.

Q: What are some of the interesting things you got to do while on your trip, that you wouldn't have gotten to do otherwise/here (more than likely, anyway)?

J.: Well, I got to eat dog (which is actually NOT a Chinese thing, but a Korean thing). Sorry about that--I had to say it!
I got to go inside houses made entirely out of ice. I rode an Elephant in Thailand, and spent the night in a village of the "long-neck" people, without electricity, chatting away with people from Korea, Slovenia, Spain, England, Belgium, and of course Thailand. I got to go camping on the Great Wall, and to swim in the Yellow Sea. I got to hold a Snow Fox, a Red Panda, and even pet a Giant Panda! I got to shop in the floating market in Thailand, and see the palace in Bangkok.
I also learned to bargain, which is awesome, because everything is always on sale--if you're good!
I got to be the first American many people met--that was wild. I loved being able to befriend so many people with completely different lives from me, so that we could learn from each other.
Also, it's really neat, and very humbling, living in a place where you don't know the language. It's frustrating, but it forces you to think and to appreciate language a lot more.

Q: Any place that you didn't really care for, or that was exceptionally hard to visit/adjust to?

J.: Like any city, Beijing has its nice parts and its not-so-nice parts. One time I got lost wandering around the settlements of the migrant workers in Beijing. I'm glad have seen the other side of things, but if I stuck out like a really sore thumb there. Nobody spoke English there at all, and everything was just under construction and strange smells. I love Beijing, and had many friends who were migrant workers, but I did not like being lost in that part of town.
Thailand was cool but I thought it was a little weird being in an airport where all the airport security carried M16s.
Cambodia was great but I had the same problem there that I have with parts of NYC; lavish luxury for some, whilst others are beggars, starving on the street. Little children were begging, while rich old foreigners seemed to be feeding their dogs caviar. At least the rich people provide jobs for some of the people in the country.
Also in Cambodia it was tough seeing all the people with missing limbs, blown up from the land mines left over from the Khmer Rouge take-over.

Q: Tell me about the school, and teaching. Was there training given? Was the job what you expected? What kind of hours/days did you work?

J.: When we got there we had a month of training, which included teacher training and cultural training, so that we wouldn't be ignorant, or particularly blown away by anything in the culture. The teacher training was difficult, given my lack of experience and confidence, but I was glad we got to have a little practice in front of the classroom beforehand. Nothing went as planned for me, but that was ok for the classroom, where only the unexpected happens!
I didn't know what to expect as far as the teaching went. I guess it was more baby-sitting than I had hoped. Probably the biggest surprise was the level of flexibility needed. A number of times I walked in and half the class was gone, out for dancing class or whatever else. Other times what I was supposed to teach would change completely five minutes before class. We just had to learn to "roll with the punches." It was a lot of fun, though.
As for work hours, it was pretty normal. Five days a week we went in in the morning at 7:45, had lunch at 12:30, had "xiuxi" (rest) until 2:15 in the afternoon, and could leave at 4:30. I did often have to stay grading papers or preparing until 9 P.M., but that was just because of my lack of experience.

Q: What about the children--what ages were you required to teach? Did they speak any English at all? Was it hard to bridge the gap, given you don't speak any Chinese?

J.: I was teaching English to 5th graders (10 yr. olds). The school was a high class one that starts teaching English in the 1st grade, using an Australian curriculum, which continues on through middle school. The longer the student was at the school, usually, the better they were at speaking English. Some students I was just helping polish their English, but others, especially if this was their first or second year only at the school--or the ones who came into the school half-way through the year--couldn't catch up to the curriculum. We had the classes divided into four different ability levels.
The students who had been there a longer time but still couldn't ask what time it was, had mostly given up and just had fun distracting the rest of the class, except when we did something that was really entertaining. Other students, who wanted to learn and didn't give up had very little problem doing the curriculum, which involved a lot of games and pictures and skits to help them use the language in context. As long as I knew how to explain something to them ahead of time, they could usually understand it. And if they didn't, every other class had a Chinese/English speaking teaching instead of me, who could correct or confirm everything!

Q: In the end, did it appear as if many of the children benefited from your help/teaching, or did it seem fruitless?

J.: I think some of them benefited more than others. It's hard to say what I taught them or what they learned from their other teachers. I think the way I helped the most with them is that I put them in a position where they had to know English in order to talk to me. It forced them out of necessity to think about and use English. We saw some students advance throughout the year, which was encouraging, but others didn't and still others seemed to somehow lose English-speaking ability. Sometimes it seemed definitely fruitless, but if nothing else, the students who tried were motivated to try harder in order to convey things to me.

Q: Has this experience given you insight into teaching you never knew? Would you ever consider teaching ESL full time after having gone through this experience?

J.: I never realized how utterly important it is to set boundaries from the beginning, especially with 30 students in a classroom. The domino effect was terrible; if one student was being bad, the others would join him/her, one by one. I should have set boundaries, not just rules, but more like a miniature system of government, right from the start when they were too shy to misbehave!
I would consider being a full-time ESL teacher again, but more likely for older students who care about learning the language. Perhaps I'd try with children in smaller classes, but for now, I'm still recovering from my last attempt.

Q: What has been the hardest adjustment now that you're back in the states? Do you find it was simpler being there, or here, as far as life goes?

J.: I think the hardest part about being back in the states is, ironically, the loss of freedom. In China, of course, the laws are stricter and freedom is limited in that way. But in America, my freedom is limited because everything is so expensive! I have less choices here.

My choice is, "Where do I want to apply and spend my time trying to earn money?" Since everything is so expensive here, the things that I have the legal freedom to do are hard to have the financial freedom to do, such as travel, playing sports, etc. Plus, living in the country (Upstate NY mountains *Audrey's add-in note*), a car and money for it are necessary for anything, and good paying jobs are a rare commodity. In China, I lived half an hour from Beijing. It cost about .15 cents to get into the city, and not too much money at all from there. I just don't have the options that I had in the suburbs of Beijing.

I think life was simpler there because here I feel like I'm so much more stressed to try to earn money just to live, pay back college, etc., but there I was provided for and although work took up a good portion of my time, I didn't have any worries outside of the present. Now I have to worry about paying back for the past (college), and until I get settled down with that stuff it's hard to really live out the present that well.

Q: What do you think is the most important lesson you have learned from being in a completely new culture and country?

J.: I think I have learned to see the bigger picture better, for one thing. Living in another culture you see a different mindset and it helps you to understand your own biases and culturally inflicted mindsets. And you see the similarities in people that you didn't know were universal. It helps you see the humanity's common characteristics in a different environment and light.
Another thing was how helpless I really am, and how reliant I am on God in order to do good. It forces me to act, and step out and do things I didn't know how to do.

Q: What, overall, is the biggest lesson you think you've learned from teaching?

J.: The biggest thing I got out of teaching was learning to work my butt off in preparation, have unforeseen circumstances and failures make the preparation feel in vain, and then get up and do it all again the next day! I learned a lot more about getting up, and falling, and getting up again, over and over. As long as I get up and continue, despite failing, repeatedly, good things will come about! God helped see me through.
Even if we are embarrassed and bruised and beaten, somehow perseverance in trying to do good eventually does good. It's hard to see the whole picture on any given day, but afterwards it becomes clearer and clearer!

Q: Do you miss the experience, or are you relieved it's over? Has it changed you in a permanent way?

J.: I do miss the experience. Every day was an adventure, and exploring was dirt cheap! Over there I could go exploring near and far. And everyday things, like buying milk, were new and strange test, and so it was fun.
I'm relieved to see my family and friends, and some of the conveniences of home are nice, like being able to talk to people and read signs, but I miss being over there, yes.
(pertaining to being changed): I think I'm less fearful of things that may make me look like an idiot in front of strangers. Also I have more of an appreciation for the people I love, but also for my independence from them. I'm more eager to try new things now. I think there were a lot of changes that are hopefully permanent, or will at least lead to growing maturity, and being able to bless and be blessed more fully in life.

ME: I thank you for your time, and sharing this experience with others!
J.:Thank you, Audrey. I appreciate the change to have had to orally process my experience! Hopefully people are blessed and inspired by it