Letters to America

A couple weeks ago, I asked my three writing classes of about 30 students each to write letters to school kids in America. I have been working with them for weeks on writing stuff with meaning and interest, but I still often got essays on why "college students should not date, but focus more on their studies" in response to narrative prompts about sharing childhood memories or describing how they ended up attending our college. American students don't need a second invitation to write about themselves, but my Chinese students seem to think "why would anyone want to read about me?" and thus commence with writing essays about moralistic topics they think I want to hear about. When I gave them interesting magazine clippings to use as inspiration to write a descriptive piece, many of them began, "the picture shows..." instead of using their imagination to make up a story based on the picture. On a few occasions, however, my students have brought me nearly to tears with amazing stories about growing up in villages with no running water and electricity, about watching a young friend die of cancer, of their parents' punishment for falsifying test scores, and of the challenges of moving away from their close knit families to live in a six bed dorm on a campus of over 18,000 students.

So I was impressed in reading my students' letters to American kids. They were excited at the opportunity to be able to represent their country (they hear that China gets a bad rap over in the states) and tried to dispel some myths. Before having them write the letters, I showed them a video I found on Youtube with a Leno-style sidewalk quiz asking Americans and Chinese people on the streets to identify popular American and Chinese icons. Of course most Americans thought Mao Zedong was Kim Jong Il, and most Chinese people had no idea who Jesus was. The clip was both hilarious and eye opening about how little we really understand about each others' culture. I also shared with them some commonly displayed stereotypes in movies about China: that everyone knows Kung Fu, how people dress, that China is ancient and mysterious, etc. I decided not to put any ideas in their heads about Chinese stereotypes about America, hoping that their own ideas would come through in their writing, and they certainly did. Most of my students began by introducing themselves and their hometowns, moving on to detailed descriptions of local dishes (particularly hot pot) and important festivals (particularly Spring Festival) many of them used the literary conventions I taught them and some moved on into missives about China's peaceful nature and how beautiful it is. Some students even bragged about Chongqing's clean air (I hope they were referring to the countryside?). Many talked about the pros, cons and details of the "one child policy," (sometimes using language not entirely appropriate for use in a classroom), and how not all Chinese people are good at math and know Kung Fu. Some detailed the struggles of being a student in the high-stakes, competitive Chinese education system, and their envy for American high school kids who don't have to attend class well into the evening and on Saturdays.

In expressing their views about America, here were some of the gems:

"America is a rich country which the economy increase fastly. When talking about America, the first sight in my mind is the NBA sports. I like it so much, especially the Huston Rockets. So long as there is a NBA live of Huston Rockets, I will never give up. The NBA sports is a symbolic of sports, it marks strong, enthusiasm, exilent, speed and competitiveness. I am so crazy to like it. Sometime I often image myself a NBA superstar. When having a beautiful behavior in the NBA match, I dream it very much. Watching NBA match for me is not only a hobby but also is a crazy pursuit."

"It's truth that your parents allow you to have a boyfriend or girlfriend even you are only ten years old? What you eat? Only fast food?"

"Sometimes, we really admire your life. Because you can make decision by yourselves after you have grown up. In China, parents always prepare everything for their children, no matter how old are we. Parents still regard us as children in their mind. It's so boring."

"In my mind, America is a modern country and I like the West of America. It's a place full of energy and freedom. By the way, I like American cars, especially Jeep Wrangler. And I know it's legal to have a gun. Does everyone like war in you country? Why do you need a gun? It's cool but dangerous."

"I'm very interested in the sucker in your culture. I watched a lot of movies about it. I know the most famous sucker is called Dracula. It is very powerful and full of energy."

"I know the America's med-term elections is coming. There are many advertisement in television and other medias. But most of them are attack China. I am very disappointed about this. I only want to say China's growing up is not America's threaten." 

"Recently, I have seen some classic American films. From these films, I learn that the drug is very common among students. Is it true? Do you everyone has talent on dancing and singing. Do you go to McDonald's everyday? Do you eat sandwiches everyday? Is it true that you don't pay the tuition when you go to the school? Among these films, "mission impossible" is my favorite. Most of my classmate admire Tom Cruise. Is he very popular in America?"

It's a bit disturbing to see the ideas my students get from watching movies about America, but it's also good that they are willing to come out and ask the questions. It puts the crazy questions people ask us sometimes in context. There is so much about daily life in China and America that is hard to convey to someone who has never experienced it firsthand.

~Katie