this is my team out to lunch one day. I wanted to introduce you to Kelly (and a group picture seems to be the only one I have of her) so if you look on the far left there is Kelly. She’s not my student but she has been one that I have been able to spend a lot of time with. Kelly recently began wearing make-up, we said goodbye for winter break and went our separate ways, she to her first part-time job and me to vacation. When I saw her again she had curled her hair and was wearing make-up. When I asked her why, she didn’t tell me it’s because she wants to be prettier (although that probably has something to do with it) but she told me she started wearing make-up because she looks more professional. Kelly is a sophomore in college and is extremely worried about her future. In Chinese colleges you can’t just change your major over and over again like you can in America. Once you choose your major, it is chosen. Often, you don’t even get to choose your major, it is chosen for you. The school will look at your test scores for the big college entrance exam, every high school student has to take, and place you in a program. As was the case with Kelly, she was put in the tourism program at Hua Qiao. However, inside this program she can go into two tracks. She can learn to be a tour guide or a hotel manager (how those are related I have no idea).
You may be wondering why I’m telling you this. College life is extremely different in China than it is in America. In order for Kelly to get a good job and support her family (which is what all Chinese students want to do) she has to work extremely hard. Kelly is looking for a part time job to help her get experience and in order to get a good (even part-time) job she trains herself. I don’t mean she practices in front of the mirror for interviews. I mean she does research. She wants to be a tour guide in Changchun over the summer, so she is now looking up and memorizing as much information about Changchun as she can. This is unheard of in America. But in China, it’s normal.
Everything in China is super competitive because of the big population. It is hard to get into college because there are so many students. And after you graduate it is hard to get a job because of the big population, everyone wants a good job that pays good money and has good benefits but it’s just not possible for EVERYONE to get it, so Kelly is now working her butt off and stressing herself out for her future.
Please lift my students up; this is just part of the pressure they face.
