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Teaching Mandarin in Dunedin

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Zhu Yi and students cutting double happiness
Zhu Yi and students cutting double happiness

Recently: Zhu Yi was one of our guests at our August meeting.  Here she writes of her New Zealand experience.

Teaching Mandarin in Dunedin

15 hours’ flights – near 10000 kilometers, that’s the distance between China and New Zealand. It’s a far distance on the map, but so close on the heart.

        I think I am lucky that I can be one of the Mandarin assistants of Confucius Institute to come to New Zealand, come to Dunedin to teach Mandarin and share Chinese culture while learning New Zealand culture, and what the important is I can witness the friendship between china and New Zealand. It has been 41 years since China and New Zealand established diplomatic relations, let alone that Shanghai and Dunedin are sister cities, so we have a Chinese Garden here, which is so lovely, and I do study in Shanghai, and now I am teaching in three schools in Dunedin. What an amazing coincidence, isn’t it?

    Time flies, the day that my homestay family picked me up in the airport seems happened yesterday, I can’t believe I have been here for about 7 months. I really had a good time in Dunedin, which as beautiful and peaceful like a garden. I’ve been to Auckland, Queenstown Tekapo, Wanaka and Christchurch, so amazing sceneries!            

       I really enjoying my teaching. I am teaching nearly 1400 kids, so lovely and lively children. We learn basic dialogues and sing Chinese songs together, cut Chinese paper-cut, do the calligraphy, play dramas, learn lots of interest things of China and Chinese culture. The popular activity is a game called “touch the word”, – who touches the word we learned first will win; and they like Chinese art as well, such as making Chinese craft like a lantern. We do lots of interesting things together.

 When I walk on street and heard the kids say loudly “nǐ hǎo, zhū lǎo shī!” to me(which means hello, Miss Zhu),I think that’s the happiest time! They do enjoy Mandarin and are happy to participate in it.  We also have different dance groups, and even played on moon festival celebration show in Chinese garden.

      Except we have Chinese Garden in Dunedin, the other thing I feel warm is I saw the “window of Shanghai” in Dunedin library. There are lots of Chinese books there, both have Chinese version and English version, introduce lots of aspects of China, like the customs, the festival, the buildings and clothing, food, really become a window of China. Maybe we have a window of Dunedin in Shanghai, what a great idea to communicate culture of each other!

    Did I mention that Dunedin people are so nice and warm? They helped me a lot. China is a state of ceremonies since ancient times. I think New Zealand is also a very kind and attractive country, gorgeous scenery, peaceful life, and sincere people, that’s the reason why I like New Zealand. China and New Zealand have different culture(different customs, food, education system, the way how we think and so on),but that’s why we need to communicate, communicate and then know each other ,respect each other, and keep the friendship forever.

I will come back to China at the end of this year.Ihope I can do my best in the last 3 months, and I will cherish my special experience here, and I really appreciate it.                                                                                            by Zhu YI