Why Peace Corps China?

 "This ain't your momma's Peace Corps."

-Angie McHodgkins; Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (China, 2006-2008)

 

When I first accepted my invite to serve with the Peace Corps in China, I, albeit excited, was skeptical, and so was almost everyone else I told of my upcoming journey.  "Why China?" was the question on everyone's mind. 

 

Peace Corps has always held a reputation for being an organization that works to abolish poverty and combat illnesses around the world, and people, myself included, tend to cling to this perception.  I knew from the time I was seven years old I wanted to join Peace Corps, and I embarked on the application journey with the preconceived idea I would be sent to live in a hut somewhere in Africa, without running water or electricity, off to save the world from the perils of economic deprivation and disease.

 

So when I, and the majority of other Americans, thought of China, the "Peace Corps" image didn't quite fit.  I heard of the preparation taking place for the 2008 Olympic Games, listened to stories and saw photos from those who had traveled to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and read reports of China's burgeoning economy and record-breaking speed of development.

 

What I didn't know then was there are two Chinas: that of the east—holder of the most expensive Olympics Games in history—, and that of the west, or, as my students in Guizhou like to say, that of "our China."

 

Guizhou, the province where I live and work, is located in southwestern China. Its GDP is the lowest in the country (lower than Tibet), and even, just to put it into perspective, lower than Kenya, Africa.  The majority of my students, university English education majors, are the sons and daughters of destitute farmers; they experienced many of the same hardships growing up than other individuals in the third world struggle with: getting enough to eat, keeping warm in the winter, having to choose between getting a job versus getting a middle school education…

 

My students, the fortunate few who were able to overcome their families' financial situations, have surpassed expectations.  They made it to college, rose above their humble upbringings; many now hold part-time jobs in the city, and can, for the first time in their lives, afford the luxury of worrying about the same things American college students worry about: clothes, makeup, pop culture, diets... 

So what am I doing here? In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in order to promote world peace and encourage friendship between peoples of differing nations.  The Peace Corps' mission has three goals; the first goal, which is often misinterpreted as "combating poverty," is simply "to help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women." China, having asked the US for assistance, has the primary interest of improving English education.   

Educationally, China, especially Guizhou, is profoundly disadvantaged.  Average class sizes for primary, elementary and higher education classrooms are about 90 students for every one teacher.  Consequently, many students cannot hear their teachers (whose classes are all lecture based), most don't get any individual attention from their teachers, and resources—books, desks, chairs—are never enough, resulting in high stresses for teachers, and, more regretfully, high percentages of students dropping out before middle school.  My fellow Peace Corps volunteers and I—96 of us in total—establish and lead teacher-training programs for teachers, providing them with the skills needed to break away from lectures, be creative in resources, and employ different techniques to cater to each of their 90 students' diverse needs. 

 

Another problem we work to combat in regards to "educational poverty" is simply filling the need to educate.  China's academic curriculum is, unfortunately, entirely test-based; students' entire education, from the time they enter primary school, is focused on passing national standardized tests (through such measures as memorization and copying).  Reflection, critical thinking, and/or analysis, let alone active learning, are completely neglected.  As the first foreigner many of them have ever seen or interacted with, I offer students the first classroom environment where they, ages 18-22, have ever been encouraged to form their own opinions, participate in class discussions, look at "shades of gray," challenge their own stereotypes, and really look beyond "A, B, C, or D" answers. 

 

Lastly, in order to meet the needs of China, volunteers are encouraged to partake in "secondary projects," which are needs that volunteers independently find in the community and, with the help of Chinese counterparts, work to improve.  My secondary project, for example, came a year into my service, after I first learned that, at the age of 16, orphans with special needs "retire" and spend the rest of their lives in nursing homes where they never leave the confines of a cement ward.  After independently visiting these retired orphans (ages 16-60+) for about a month, I employed the help of a few students.  Together, we brainstormed things we could do to improve situations for these people with special needs, and now, with the help of two student leaders, Seeds, the first student-volunteer organization in our community, is in existence.  With a large number of dedicated student volunteers, who have never been given opportunities like this before, Seeds brings physical, occupational and recreational therapy programs to our friends with special needs, which exposes others to their diverse abilities and worth, provides them with stimulation and friendship, and gives all people involved—students included—purpose. 

 

The second goal of Peace Corps is to "promote a better understanding of Americans," and this, while difficult to measure, is something fellow volunteers and I have tried to do every moment of every day for the past 22 months we've been here.  In addition to teaching American Culture, giving culture lectures, having cultural conversations, etc., I am constantly working to dispel stereotypes Chinese have of Americans ("Americans are all wealthy", "Americans all own guns", "American children do not love their parents") and try to always—in every facet of life—be aware of my actions.  As a blonde-haired foreigner in a city of 3.5 million Chinese, people are always watching me, see my every move, and, since I am the first American many of them have ever seen or spoken to, make generalizations of all Americans based on my actions.  Consequently, I always try to be on my best behavior, do things to show that I care about China, am interested in Chinese culture, and, through learning to speak Chinese, build meaningful relations with people from all backgrounds and facets of society, not just the wealthy or educated. 

 

The third, final goal of the Peace Corps is "to promote a better understanding of other people on the part of Americans." Having lived here, struggled to overcome my own stereotypes and ideas of what is "right" and "wrong," work to understand, interact, integrate, and, ultimately, take a part of their culture as my own, I truly feel the Chinese are one of the least understood peoples in America.  Due to the profound differences between our cultures, biased media, tensions between governments, and, consequently, a general lack of knowledge, China is in dire need of "understanding on the part of Americans" and this third goal is, for me, becoming the paramount answer to the question "why China?".

 

As I quickly approach the end to my 24 month service, I am confronted with the realization that I will never quite be finished with my job as a Peace Corps China volunteer.  When I leave China, I will leave with the satisfaction of knowing that fellow American volunteers and I have made a lasting impact on China, whether by making slight improvements on the quality of education, making leaps and bounds with our secondary projects, and/or simply building positive relationships and making lifelong impressions on the people here that work to undo years of misguided notions of "Americans."    And so, as I prepare myself to return to America, I know that the next journey, which involves the help of all of you, is just beginning; I look forward to the day when Americans and Chinese, through newfound consideration and insight, are able to really work together, learn from each other, and maintain a truly accepting, tolerant and peaceful friendship.