Stepping Into the Unknown: My China Summer Camp Adventure!
The China Trip!
Speaking CHINESE in front of native speakers? Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that!
I was recently given the incredible opportunity to be part of a science and technology volunteering summer camp in China. And it was amazing! It is an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life, and the learnings will stay with me forever.
How Did It Happen?
Now, let me be real with you. It was initially super scary. When my mom asked me:
“你想去中国参加夏令营吗?” (Do you want to go to China to attend a summer camp?)
I of course said yes! I didn't stop to think about what it would actually mean: I had just signed up to go to China for the first time alone!
You might be thinking, "But Jonas, what is the big deal? You are Chinese right?" Well, yes, but my Chinese skills are, let’s say, a work in progress. But it is when we go out of our own comfort zones that we grow and learn the most. So there was no doubt in my mind, I gotta sign up for this!
The Arrival: Chaos
I'm not lying to you when I say, it started out completely crazy. As I was making my way out of the Guangzhou airport, I thought, "Now, how do I get to the hotel with the little Chinese I know?"
Like some higher being had read my mind, a short guy walks up to me. He was wearing a green t-shirt and looked kind of sketchy.
"Where are you going?" He asked in confrontational, broken English.
My first thought was: he's trying to scam me. But I played along. I showed him the address of my hotel. He looked at the address, brought out his phone, typed a bit, and then said:
"Ok ok, 200 Yuan!"
200 Yuan!?! For reference, that is a fortune for a taxi ride there. "That’s too much," I replied. He frowned. "Ok how much?" I thought for a moment then said "50 Yuan."
The guy then put on the most exaggerated stage performance I have ever seen.
“50 YUAN!?! NO NO NO NO YU KIDDING?!”
He practically screamed while jumping up and down. Our exchange continued for a while until I could clearly understand that this guy was in fact trying to scam me.
Luckily, I managed to find the official taxis shortly after. Phew, I'm safe now, right? WRONG! Of course, this taxi driver was also nuts! He did not like waiting in queues, so he decided to drive in between the lines. I was sitting in the back praying that I would make it to the hotel in one piece. Spoiler alert: I did. And after this rocky start, the trip was nothing but perfection.
The First Days: Food!!!!
There is one thing I gotta tell you: THE FOOD! It was pure bliss. Everywhere you went, you could go into a local restaurant and get the best meal of your life for a super affordable price. Every morning, I would have the hotel buffet that was pure perfection! Just thinking about it makes me want to go back… I probably should hehehe.
The hotel was very close to a big park that I spent my first days exploring. I just loooved the park. So much green, so calm and overall lovely! I spent tons of time sitting on a bench reading or trying to ask people for directions with the little Chinese I knew.
My plan was this: I'm going to speak as much Chinese as I could to improve it. Oh boy was it tough, but a challenge is always part of the growth process!
The Summer Camp begins!
I could not believe my eyes! The camp was held at a hotel that just screamed luxury.
"Is this where I'm gonna stay for the camp?!?!" I thought to myself.
“Look at that pond with fishes!”, “MMMMMM this food is delicious”, “Omg this room is amazing!” This is just a sneak peak of some of the thoughts after spending my first hours in the hotel. The arrival to the Hotel can in my words only be described as pure bliss. However none of that comes close in comparison to the opening ceremony.
As I entered the large auditorium for the opening ceremony, everything felt formal and "proper." In front of me were neatly organized white-clothed round tables, a huge stage, and a massive display. I thought to myself, "Cool! I wonder who is gonna talk on stage."
The dinner was great, and it was a relief to speak some English with the other attendees. But the relief was short-lived when one of the girls at my table dropped a bombshell:
“You know that we will present ourselves in Chinese right?”
WAIT WHAT? Present ourselves in Chinese? It wasn't just guest speakers on that stage. It was us! To make matters worse, the first person who walked up spoke fluent Chinese, instantly raising the bar.
Speaking Chinese in Front of Native Speakers
“Jonas Hulthén!” the lady announces.
I was feeling nervous but I thought, "You being brave enough to go up there is already the win!" So with as much courage as I could muster, I rushed up on stage.
“大家好！我叫 Jonas，我是一名学生 Computer Science。”
(Which roughly translates to: Hello everyone! My name is Jonas and I study Computer Science.)
Because I didn't know the phrase for "Computer Science" in Chinese, I said it in English while frantically miming typing on a keyboard! The photographer perfectly captured the picture of me gesturing wildly.
I did it! And it wasn't even that bad. It is often like that in life, we are afraid of taking the leap, but the actual leap might not be as bad as we initially think.
What Came Next?
However, this was just the start of the camp, right?
When I tell you “summer camp,” you probably think of charades and roasted marshmallows. Well, you might have figured out that this was not that kind of camp.
The very next morning at eight o’clock, we hit the road with all our luggage in a hired bus. There was so much packed into this trip that I can't fit it all in one post.
Stay tuned for Part 2, where I’ll dive into the highlights of the camp, including wearing full traditional Chinese clothes!