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Published: April 19th 2009
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Today’s Chinese class was particularly interesting. In the second half of the lesson we had a discussion about Chinese society with Miss Fong. It was a good opportunity to ask her questions and listen to a personal account of daily life in China.
Miss Fong also spoke about her 14 year old daughter and her weekly routine. It basically consists of studying, studying and more studying! She is in class from 8am until 5 pm each weekday. After mealtime she studies from 8pm - 11pm AND attends three school classes on a Saturday. The remainder of the weekend is spent reviewing work and doing homework.
Generally speaking: from the age of 3 children attend Kindergarten. They learn to speak English and learn simple Chinese characters - how impressive is that?! Children go to primary school from the age of 6 until they are 12. They then go to secondary school for 3 years and then college for a further 3. In Beijing 70% of students go onto study at University level. The literacy levels in the city are about 90% but this is lower out with the city.
Miss Fong touched on healthcare in China. There is no
free healthcare in China so you have to buy health insurance. If you have an accident then the Government may contribute but this depends on what insurance you buy. “Social help” is available to people cannot afford any type of insurance. I asked if this is distributed by Social Workers but I did not get a straightforward response ……
One of my classmates said that some people in China WANT to go to jail because the food is good and there is lots of dancing. Some how I don’t think that is why Scottish prisons are over crowded!
After class we were given the choice of visiting the Hyundai Car factory or the Yanjing Beer factory. I choose the beer factory because I thought it would be interesting to see the working conditions. The factory itself was massive; I think they expanded it last year because Yanjing was one of the main sponsors for the Beijing Olympics. I can imagine they went through a lot of beer! The main building looked and felt and felt like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, except the beer workers were the oompa-loompas! We watched an impressive promotional video at the start of
our tour, it did not match the inside what so ever.
In the evening I met up with three members of staff from my University. One is a China representative based in Beijing, the other two are from back home. It felt so comforting to hear a Scottish voice and discuss some thing familiar. Out of 120 students on the trip there are only five actual Scots, the other Scottish University students are English. They came to meet me at Beijing Normal University and took me to a nearby dumpling restaurant. The China representative is important contact and I sincerely hope we can do some joined up working in the future. I should maybe mention that I’m planning on spending Christmas in Hong Kong with Jodie (she is studying there for a year and will have an extra bed). Onwards and upwards!
We shared our experiences about Beijing and had a really interesting conversation about Chinese society. It was an excellent opportunity to ask questions specific to my course rather than in the classroom (where the other students do not share the same interests as me). I noted some interesting perspectives and information about; homelessness, the one child
policy and the social work profession.
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