There I was, about to embark on my first harbor crossing from Hong Kong International Airport to Shekou Port in Shenzhen. After traveling for a grueling 25 hours, I was in a rather hypnotic state, voyaging to my new home. I wasn’t sure what to expect; a part of me was anticipating the traditional China that I had read and saw pictures of, and another part of me was expecting … well I don’t know. Truthfully, I came to China because it seemed like the best option for me. I was also rather bored with living in the same province I had my entire life, so I came for a new life. Apparently you can pick those up on the second floor of Ren Ren Le.

Just kidding!

My expectations, of course, did not in any way pan out to be what I had imagined. For the next year of my life would be one filled with peaks and valleys, difficulties and revelations, friends and foes, good times and very, very bad times. But, that’s life. Get on with it.

I came all the way from Canada, spitting out “ehs”, and talking about how hot it was. Yes, I thought I was quite cultured, moving half way across the world.

But actually, I hadn’t left Canada in the last 15 years, and went to university in the same province that my family lived in. Mom and dad, and the rest of my family were a phone call away. What the heck did I know about living internationally?

That’s a good question.

The first time I left my new home alone, I had heart palpitations. I had eaten with some friends at a small local restaurant the day before, so I decided it was time to go get some grub and venture back there.

Lesson number one: In Canada cars yield for pedestrians, but in China, they don’t.

After my near death experience, I decided it was time to get something to eat. I was starving, and wasn’t feeling very well due to cheap Tsingtao, and unruly Canadians. I’m also almost positive that all I had eaten the day before was peanut butter and crackers. So, I did it all by myself. I ordered food! There I was pointing, using hand gestures, expressing what I wanted. Woohoo! c-o-m-m-u-n-i-c-a-t-i-o-n.

I sat down, and patiently awaited my food.

However, I started noticing something quite peculiar. I wasn’t sure why, but the cooks were taking turns, mysteriously walking out, on-by-one, looking at me. The lady, who had taken my order, was smiling and laughing at me. I was just sitting there – what the heck was happening?

It bothered me – why would they want to look at me? I had nearly just died. I said “ni hao. Didn’t they understand that this was stressful? I left feeling annoyed and angry, thinking that I was the center of some stupid joke.

They also gave me the wrong food. Ughh.

Alas, for the next week and a half, I ate next to nothing, other than McDonalds. Everything else made me feel sick and I had no idea how to order things properly. McDonalds also didn’t make me feel very good, as I probably ate more in those two weeks than I had for 3-4 years. But, hey, I was living in China, being cultured. Ha!

I later found out after talking to a fellow co-worker, who had been living in China for a few years, that I probably shouldn’t have been angry towards the workers at the aforementioned restaurant. Apparently, they wanted to check out the ‘beautiful’ new teacher, who was ordering food all by herself. I should have been flattered.

Chinese culture definitely eluded me at first, and to be quite frank, at times it still does. I had more experiences like this within my first few months than I can count on my fingers and toes, and I’m sure I’ll have others. My level of consciousness has certainly increased, though, and I try not to be someone who thinks they are privileged simply for being a foreigner. I take the good with the bad, reciprocate smiles, say “ni hao” when someone yells out “hello” at me, and I try to practice kindness when I don’t understand what’s happening. And most importantly, I reflect on my experiences and the way I reacted.

Undoubtedly, being an outsider in China summons extra attention, but dealing with that in a positive and constructive way is important.

My experience, although simple, is quite enlightening to the many errors in communication and judgment that occur. It’s not easy adapting to a new culture, but it is necessary. Otherwise, you are ignorant. Understanding human nature + kindness + adapting = being cultured in Shenzhen.

The next time you’re in a tiff, try practicing this. It makes life in Shenzhen a heck of a lot more enjoyable.

“Many individuals find little comfort in their experience with public education.”

Public education — the product of culture and history — is often scrutinized because of its hierarchical, standardized, “one shoe fits all” approach.  However, with the insurgence of technology and the ease of access to like-minded individuals, the road towards educational reform is no longer a distant vision.

A short history of public education:

Industries needed workers and people needed jobs; the Industrial Revolution was taking place.  Students, like the products and services of the industrial revolution, were mass produced to meet the needs of this era and public education was formed.

Learning is a process, and should not considered a means to an end:

Ken Robinson, who is one of the leading visionaries on public education and its need for change, argues that schools overvalue certain abilities (logical), while undervaluing others (artistic).  Many graduate from high school with little understanding of what they’re actually good at; they are lost.

However, a new revolution is taking place – the technological era—and with this, industrialism is seeing its decline, and so too is the effectiveness of strategies and policies that schools use to educate students.

Video games, social networking and new literacy:

The internet, video games and new means of communication are highly effective when it comes to learning, why?

They allow the individual to become part of the process of learning by creating meaningful connections.

Video games, just like the internet and technology, require that one participates in their learning by focusing on what is being done,  rather than simply learning a set of facts (rote memorization). They are important because they require problem solving skills through challenging situations — knowledge is derived from problems that are effectively solved.

Social identities are inextricably linked to processes of learning, which is why social networking is coming to the forefront. Social networking sites, such as Twitter, are highly influential examples of learning to do, rather than learning to know, because they require that people network and build relationships with others. People connect through their own interests and experiences and become participants in the process of knowledge acquisition, which again, creates meaningful connections.

As the future dictates that we embrace a new cultural mindset: innovation, creativity and awareness, we must collectively re-asses our values about what learning entails.

Check out #edchat on Twitter and Ken Robinson who is one of the chief advocates on educational reform.