Locations: Weishan First High, Xiang Hua Middle School, An Le Elementary School
Rachel Jiang
As a graduated senior in high school, SIW 2019 meant more to me than just the teaching and the students. It could very well last time I get to be back in Weishan. at least for a while. I couldn’t leave Weishan like I did before — with the promise of definite return. This year was also vastly different because I didn’t teach anymore to devote myself into advising the participants. I knew I loved the teaching aspect of SIW, but I definitely didn’t know I would miss it so much that if I could go back in time, I would have wanted to teach again. However, I think the compromise was worth it as I was much more in tune with everyone because without my own classes to worry about, I was bouncing between classes and giving each group and individual catered feedback. It was a different perspective to be sitting in the back of the classroom, but it made me realize how important it was to give feedback on the participants performance, whether its congratulating the positives or giving constructive criticism on what needed to be improved upon. This has been a phenomenal year as I was watching the participants become more comfortable and competent day by day, each bettering themselves in different ways. It was a regret I wasn’t able to go to the Elementary as much, but under the guidance of Sophia Li the elementary camp was successful. A strong leader, or leaders, is essential to SIW. Not only does a SIW leader have to be competent in teaching and social skills, he/she also need to be organized and have the voice to lead the participants in terms of teaching skills, social skills, or conduct. Which is why I hope SIW continues with strong leaders in the future. All in all, I hope SIW will continue as an authentic program, ever recruiting motivated and talented students and evolving every year!
Angela Chen
SIW provided an opportunity for me to step out of my comfort zone; speaking in front of a large room of students challenged me to do that. It also allowed me to express myself more than I used to because it changed my view of public speaking. Experiencing things through the perspective of a teacher helped me understand the importance of a teacher’s role in every student’s life. Seeing my students have interest in my lessons and knowing they enjoyed them always made my day.
Living like the students in Weishan for two weeks was a unique experience; not only did I get to understand the daily life of students in China but I also got a glimpse of an environment that’s different from the one I grew up in. Although the students are usually busy with schoolwork, they still find time to try to get to know us better outside of the classroom. They are interested in our American lives and I was happy to tell them about it and spend time with them to get a better understanding of theirs as well.
Because of SIW, I gained the confidence to speak in front of large audiences and I’ve made new friendships with my students and my team members as well. After getting to know my students and seeing the genuine kindness they showed to me that can only come from their hearts, saying goodbye felt so difficult— there were some tears. Even though leaving was hard, SIW was a truly special, irreplaceable experience that I’m happy I had it and it is one I’ll never forget. I came across a quote the other day and I’m glad I did because it spoke to me. “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” — Dr. Seuss
Annabelle Gong
Being apart of SIW was such an amazing experience that I will never forget. Spending two weeks immersed in another culture helped me learn a lot about China and about myself. At first, I was extremely nervous about teaching a class of 60 students. My Chinese skills were subpar and I had never been comfortable with public speaking. Immediately after teaching our very first classes, I was amazed by the warmness in which the students welcomed us. We were immediately invited to music groups, lunches, pe classes, and so many other fun activities. Throughout those two weeks, there was a constant factor of cultural exchange. I was able to experience firsthand the environment that my parents had grown up in. Living as a student in China taught me more about Chinese culture than any class in the US ever could. Even from the beginning, the students were very excited to learn about American culture. In the two weeks, I was given the opportunity to teach my very own interactive lesson to our studentsTo see how much the students enjoyed the lesson and how happy they were to participate was such a fullfilling experience. After only a couple of days of teaching, I felt less like an outsider and more like a part of their student family. The students I met during SIW were one of the best parts of this trip. They are so energetic and excited to become friends and share their hobbies with you. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to teach and meet so many amazing people in Weishan.
Bailey Zhang
My experiences in Weishan has been unforgettable. I am thankful for having the opportunity to go to Weishan and teach for the second time. SIW has changed a lot since last year. Compared to last year the amount of SIW members have significantly became bigger. Our elementary team went from 4 members to 7 members! This was an improvement because we accomplished a lot more things, taught more classes, and provides more for the elementary school. Speaking of which, the elementary school also changed this year. Just like students in the elementary school last year, AnLe elementary school kids were exeptional students; energetic, responsible, independent, and very hard working. Almost all of them paid attention to us during class and were patient when we were having some difficulties figuring things out(,like how to work the projector). In the beginning I was quite nervous about teaching, especially because you have to use Chinese. Another challenge was having to teach Gym, Music, and Art because I am not the best at any of those. When we first went to the Elementary School the kids were also shy because they didn’t know who we are and they probably have never had visitors like us. Teaching the first few times was a success–I would say– and made me more comfortable teaching. The Students also became more friendly with us. Even though it is not the funnest thing to lesson plan it is definitely worth it when you get to teach these students. I had lots of fun with my team this year. My team was full of nice people and treated me as equals so it was easy to get along with them. This year we got to stay in Weishan No.1 High School dorms and it was really cool to experience living in a high school campus, even though I am not even old enough to be in high school. We also got to experience school food (which is a lot better than Austin school food). Unfortunately, this experience quickly ended. On the last day, many students gave us presents and asked for our signatures. We had to say goodbye to the students which was sad and pack up to leave. All in all, I am so very grateful for this entire experience, I will cherish it forever, and I hope that I can go to Weishan again one year.
Benjamin Li
Walking through the courtyard at An le elementary school is quite a sight to see. Frolicking children play jokes and run around, and friends skip hand-in-hand.
Even before our first day of teaching, the group and I could hardly handle the excitement and anxiety from the planning. We had trouble pairing classes, understanding the schedule, and finding the right equipment for classes like art and P.E., luckily the first day set us in our groove. I was already starting to connect with other younger students and understanding who my teammates were. I also learned much from being a teacher. I wasn’t comfortable speaking Chinese and it made me look awkward among my group, but later on I became more confident and crept out of my shell. Soon I was running, skipping, and cheering others on with the students around me.
Seeing the smiles of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders will brighten anyone’s rainy day. They had learned very little English (3rd grade not at all!), and I could tell how eager to learn their spirits were. Children as young and innocent as they are, deserve just as much as the elementary students in my old elementary school. This not only opened my eyes but also the eyes of my fellow peers and group members.
I hope they grow with the strong will and spirit that they showed us on the two weeks we got the lucky chance to teach them. Each with their own unique talent and passion for whatever they seek in the future may it be knowledge, fame, or peace, I am so glad our tiny worlds got to see the bigger picture with a better world.
Elaine Ren
I would say SIW 2019 was one of the most memorable experience I had for my entire summer.
Throughout this journey, I had a chance to experience things I had never done before, one of them was teaching Chinese students English. We were the first-ever group to teach the middle school students in Weishan and also the first time collaborating with Xianghua middle school. This made us rather unfamiliar with the situation there. We had no idea where the students’ English levels are at and whether or not they would find our teaching materials understandable. It was only after we had officially met the teachers, then we were informed about their English level. We had less than a day to adjust the materials we prepared accordingly and the limited amount of time was a big challenge for us. Our group burnt the midnight oil and finished the materials for our lesson just in time for the lesson.
One personal breakthrough was that I am much more comfortable with public speaking. During the first lesson, I was super nervous. I remember speaking so fast that I keep stumbling with my words. As the lessons went on, my nervousness eased overtime. I was much more confident and much more comfortable speaking in front of the class.
Besides teaching, SIW allowed me to meet people whom I eventually formed deep bonds with, my groupmates, roommates, as well as the middle school students we taught. All the “fights” we had over Unstable Unicorn; the forfeit we came up with for the loser of the game Doudizhu (斗地主); and our obsession with green apple Fantas as well as Chickies. These memories we made, the friendship we had are things that I would treasure for life.
SIW was also a platform to expose me to different cultures. We experienced the daily lives of Chinese high school students. Their form lives with the early morning wake up bells at 6.30am and the lights off bell at 11 pm every day; their morning runs; their 早自习and晚自习. We had a glimpse of how hard they work towards a common goal of getting a good grade in 高考, as well as the time and effort they put into achieving their goal.
The SIW journey I had this year was unforgettable. If I have the chance next year, I would gladly come back and contribute more to this.
Hillary Xu
SIW is a camp that encourages teenagers to get out of their comfort zone and expand their worldly views. Although the actual teaching part was only two weeks, the experience can last a lifetime. I have learned many leadership, management, communication, and teaching skills that will definitely help me be a better person. By teaching students, we teach ourselves; we must adjust our perception and reaction to facilitate effective interaction with a variety of different people. Through this experience, I have learned more about myself, faults and all, and am more comfortable interacting with people of all personalities and ages. The most important thing that I realized about myself is that I micromanage when I’m stressed. Now that I know my faults, I can improve myself and try to relax. For those wondering if SIW is the camp for you, I urge you to just try. I’m positive that you will surprise yourself with your progress and increased understanding of the world around you. Many thanks for the opportunity for a great experience.
Jason Ren
Going to WeiShan was one of the most unique and transformative opportunities that I have ever experienced. As soon as I started talking to and teaching my classes, it was clear that the students were extremely welcoming and interested to learn from us. I could see the curiosity in their eyes as we explained various differences in our two societies and quirks in the English language. Given that we had to prepare lesson materials before each day started, I was required to be a lot more alert and responsible so that we would have smooth and well-planned lessons for every class. Summer in Weishan also allowed me to experience an entirely foreign and interesting culture while also being able to help the students take away some bits of American culture. In addition, we were able to give them a newfound interest for their usually dull English classes. No matter how tired I happened to be each day, I could count on the cheerfulness of our students (and the stress of trying to find a way to stretch the lessons out to 40 minutes) to wake me up. I would definitely encourage anyone with time and even a halfway decent proficiency in Chinese to experience what I was able to.
Jichuan Li
My experience with the SIW group in Weishan is, without a doubt, the most meaningful experience I had during the summer break of 2019. Being immersed in a completely different culture than the one that I have known for most of my life was an unforgettable experience in which I learned many new things including the culture and lifestyle of the students there, management skills, improv, and most of all, being a teacher. My group was the first group to teach at the XiangHua Middle School and so we had to juggle learning the situation of the school with teaching and preparing/editing our teaching material. We also didn’t know the English level of the students there until around one day before teaching actually started, resulting in a frantic rush to adjust our material so that it would be ready for the students the next day. These were my first moments of being a teacher, before classes even officially started. When classes started though, I was grateful that my team and I were able to pull through and complete everything because we were all so nervous that having to improv on the scene would have meant certain humiliation.
Outside of teaching, I was also fortunate enough to be able to interact with the local students, not only with the ones that we were teaching, but other high schoolers and elementary kids as well. As I talked with them and understood more of their daily routines, I was shocked about how hard they worked, usually studying from early in the morning to late at night. They were also very attentive during class, taking notes and asking questions. It made me personally more motivated to work harder so that they could understand the content faster and easier.
This program helped me step out of my comfort zone and become a more confident person. I would like to thank SIW for giving me such a wonderful opportunity and for making this one of my most memorable experiences.
Lili Xu
Teaching Weishan high school students was one of those rare opportunities that only comes by once. Taking on four classes with a limited fluency in mandarin was probably the hardest part of teaching. Between PE classes and eating lunch with the students, the schedule was very tight, and it was up to us to come up with engaging lessons on the fly and adjust quickly to the English level of each class. As someone who likes to plan everything, I learned a lot of improv that made me a better teacher and made for a more exciting lesson. The best part of the trip was definitely the friendships. We immersed ourselves in the student lifestyle, going on morning runs (when we could wake up), playing against amazing basketball players, and talking in their dorms until lights out. Seeing how intensely they worked during the school day gave me a newfound appreciation for my own life, and respect for them – despite their schedule, they would always greet us warmly, reacting to our shaky Mandarin and basketball skills with positive energy and a playful spirit. I was amazed by their maturity and their worldly attitudes despite having learned about America from a textbook, and through our conversation I both exponentially improved my Chinese and strengthened our friendship. One of my favorite memories from the trip was on our first day, when we were invited to a student organized talent show, with beatboxing, guitar, harmonica, and more. There is so much passion and talent in the students that they were eager to share with us, from small gestures of gifts and letters to staying after class to ask us about life in America, and these moments are what stayed with me and made this trip so memorable.
Noah Liu
The two weeks I spent in Weishan were two of the most impactful and amazing weeks I have ever had. Being exposed to a culture so different from ours was an incredibly eye-opening experience. I had participated in SIW Elementary last summer and I was expecting a similar experience, but this year turned out to be very different. Since the students this year were older, teaching and talking to them was much easier. Just like everyone else, I was quite nervous in the beginning because I didn’t want to humiliate myself in front of all of the students, but I soon learned that most of students were just as nervous to meet us as we were to meet them. Once I started talking to them outside of class, however, the shyness they had faded away and kindness and curiosity took over. Almost every day, the students would give us small gifts and ask us questions about ourselves and about life in America. I also had the chance to learn about the lives of the students. I was a little surprised at how hard-working the students were. They worked from very early in the morning to very late at night and they seemed motivated – they all listened intently during our classes some would even take notes. SIW also taught me to be more confident in speaking. I have never been a loud speaker but the size of the classrooms forced me to really project my voice so everyone could hear. Overall, SIW was a wonderful experience for me to learn about a new culture and step outside my comfort zone.
Rachel Chen
Going to Weishan for the first time and teaching there was definitely a very memorable experience for me. In the beginning, I was a little nervous to teach at An Le Elementary due to my inexperience with teaching and my public speaking struggles. Sometimes, I would even mix up my words or stutter. But thanks to my encouraging elementary team, I was able to surpass those troubles. When I arrived at An Le Elementary, it was obvious that the children that went to this school weren’t as privileged as people like us. You can tell from a glance that their tanned skin were from working in fields for hours, and their clothes were worn down from being used for so many years. I learned that many of these kids don’t get to go home on the weekends because their houses are over three hours away, and some of them don’t even get to see their parents until they graduate from elementary. Even though the students there didn’t have the best conditions, they still smiled every day. This made me realize how many things I’ve been taking for granted and how thankful I am now for what I have in my life. Teaching in Weishan has definitely made me a better person and helped me be more comfortable with public speaking, I’d love to go back and teach again.
Shawna Ye
As a returnee of SIW, I couldn’t but feel excited about the brand new adventure I would get to experience this year, and Weishan absolutely did not disappoint. During these two weeks, I learned so much about the different aspects of life in Weishan, about the students, and about myself. I was inspired by the students who had to face enormous workloads on a daily basis (which dwarfed mine in comparison) yet took it all with graceful ease, amazed by their ability to handle immense family responsibilities, and awed by their strength to retain their contagious laughter throughout it all. Because of these students, I can say with confidence that I have come out of SIW as a better person. However, to be completely honest, I was also incredibly nervous to return this year, because I had feared that I would not learn anything more than what I had learned last year. Thankfully, I was proven completely wrong as I was able to live through experiences entirely different from last year, meeting entirely new people and learning entirely new lessons. Weishan is an endless source of knowledge, and every lesson learned is something to be treasured.
Simon Wong
SIW was an amazing experience. From the unique work to the strange situation, teaching English in a mountain town for two weeks may seem pretty daunting. In reality though, it was a lot, and I do mean a lot, of fun. The SIW program really opens one’s eyes to unique aspects of a completely differently culture, and living like the students do produces an experience that is completely unparalleled in any other volunteer opportunity I’ve heard of. SIW isn’t a cake walk, though. The hours are long and the work is hard, not to mention having to adapt to teammates that you may or may not know very well, then having to work tightly with them for two weeks. However, the feeling of family and accomplishment within a group is tremendous at the end of the camp. I know I personally messed up a ton during my first year in SIW, but it’s alright because I made great friends, learned a lot, and together we all had a blast regardless.
Sophia Li
A cultural exchange program like Summer In Weishan has the potential to be so deeply personal for every participant. Over the course of two weeks teachers are encouraged by their students and each other to make those social connections that ask us to rethink identity—what does it mean to belong to a culture and what is mine? The bridging of cultural differences forces us to confront the distinct humanness of having meaningful interactions with students at once so similar and strikingly different from ourselves.
I chose to return to Summer In Weishan this summer because of the success of last year’s trip and my new experiences from the PROS (PALS) program at school, where high school juniors and seniors work with elementary and middle school counselors to help students with behavioral, family or other personal issues that affect their classroom learning. Having taught the elementary kids at Jianshe during the summer and working with 5 sweet kids from similarly disadvantaged or different backgrounds during my junior year, I was able to see more clearly the extent to which our work influences these kids. Anle elementary’s students, who we taught this past summer, were again so incredibly receptive to us: you can feel that curiosity and excitement instantly the moment you step into a classroom and are bombarded with questions and blinded by toothy smiles. We say we plan lessons when, in reality, there is no set plan for any kind of organic interaction, which I think is the most valuable part of an experience like this. The purpose of introducing our American culture to Chinese students is not only to help them with their English class but also to cultivate understanding in real, interpersonal relationships for them and ourselves.
The kids we taught in the last two summers are sweet and thoughtful and always more wonderful than you remember. That natural clarity of childhood makes them shamelessly curious of everything you are and represent—keeping them engaged in class is the deciding factor in how successful lessons are. Certainly it got repetitive to be followed around every passing period by a trail of first graders clutching at mine and one another’s shirt tails like baby ducks, but I could turn around and make the same funny face and would still get bubbly laughs every time that make every time I had to raise my voice in class worth it.
Of course it doesn’t quite feel as though we’re making such meaningful connections at times—having the kids repeat a set of vocal words for 3/4 of class time so that they might be drilled into their memories for example may feel tedious and impersonal—but so long as we stay consistently present in and grateful for the opportunity to even be interacting with such great kids is worth every minute of the program. There is no substitute for social skills and deeper appreciation of our relationships. SIW allows high school students, working through some of the formative years of their lives, the unique opportunity to be exploring these values and offering something invaluable to the students they interact with.