As someone who grew up half-Asian (I’m half Chinese-Indonesian), I’m pretty familiar with a lot of cultural aspects that many foreigners would not be used to while visiting or living in China. Moreover, I studied abroad in China during my junior year of college, which has given me some knowledge of living in the country as well as the skill to adapt to new environments easily. This being said, I’ve felt pretty at home living in Wuhan--especially now that I’ve made such amazing friends. However, to say that I’ve seamlessly integrated into my community would be a lie. There have been countless miscommunications and misunderstandings, particularly as I navigate the working-world in a new country.
Before I explain, I want to emphasize that, though a country may do something differently, that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It’s just different, and that’s okay. This is something that I remind myself of when I am teaching.
The teaching style in China is much different from the way I was educated in America. In both my high school and college, my classes were discussion-based and students were expected to participate and engage with their classmates and teacher during each lesson. Most of the time, we sat at a round table, or we were able to move our desks so that students would be able to face each other.
