Samantha Huey, a 21-year-old college student, had always wanted to travel abroad before graduating college. However, due to the demands of her coursework, spending an entire semester abroad was not possible. Instead, Sam traveled on a United Planet Quest to China this past summer, where she taught English at the Haojiping Ethnic School in Hunan Province. We spoke with Sam, and she told us more about her journey!
Sam was motivated to travel in part because she is minoring in Global Diseases at school, a program that requires a cultural experience for completion. Sam’s China Quest was the perfect way to fulfill this requirement, and at the same time, learn more about her own Chinese heritage. Sam had never traveled abroad before, but had had previous experience working with children. Her Teaching Quest allowed her to use her experience with kids to her advantage, but still learn a lot along the way!
Once in China, Sam settled in to life in the rural village of Haojiping. The Haojiping Ethnic School is a boarding school and most students live at the school during the weekdays and return home for the weekends. Sam and her fellow volunteers lived at the school and were immersed in the daily workings of the programs there. A typical day for Sam started off with morning chores – sweeping the dorm rooms, cleaning and organizing, etc. She and the other volunteers would enjoy breakfast made by the school cook, and then it was time to begin teaching for the day! The Haojiping school day had five class periods, each 45-50 minutes long, and Sam describes, “the schedule appeared tiring at first but in reality one only teaches a few periods a day, rather than five, so it is hard work but not exhausting.”
After a 2-hour break for lunch, rest, and lesson-planning, Sam would teach her afternoon periods. Evenings were spent enjoying dinner, spending time with the students and other volunteers, and planning the following day’s lessons. Occasionally, the volunteers would have dinner with one of the students’ families, as well. The benefit of living at the school was that the volunteers were able to spend most of their days in the company of the students and form strong bonds even in a short period of time.
Sam taught students aged 12-16, noting, “they had a basic handle on English already. I enjoyed teaching this grade because they were able to do some of my more advanced lesson plans I had prepared.” Having done a lot of lesson-planning before even leaving on her Quest, Sam found it especially gratifying when her students picked up her lessons quickly and showed off their pronunciation skills with pride. It was extremely rewarding to experience the eagerness of the students in Haojiping and to see their excitement when they answered a question correctly.
Sam’s favorite part about her Quest was the chance to step outside her comfort zone. She had anticipated the rural living conditions would be a challenge, but was surprised to find that it didn’t bother her much at all! Instead, the language barrier was one of the biggest obstacles to overcome. Sam described that when speaking through an interpreter, you have to learn to be patient and wait for an answer, and also noted that some of the information gets lost. However, by the end of her 3 weeks, she was starting to pick up on some of the language already.
Aside from her teaching responsibilities, Sam also participated in cultural activities, which definitely tested her limits! Her most memorable excursion was a visit to a bat cave. Sam described that they had to contort themselves to pass through the slippery, dark crevasses, but came out feeling accomplished and challenged.
For those considering volunteering in China in the future, Sam says, “be positive and go with the flow.” Above all, challenge yourself and try to push the limits of what you are comfortable with. We will leave you with Sam’s words describing her incredible China Summer:
“It felt like we were gone for a lifetime rather than just a month; saying goodbye was probably the hardest part! I experienced so many new things and feel like I’ve grown as a person. I’ve learned to appreciate what I have and how to endure through difficult situations. Teaching English to the kids taught ME that I enjoy leading a class, and that public speaking isn’t scary…I have always wanted to study abroad, but since participating in China Summer I want to do more volunteer work abroad–that way, I am not only gaining new experiences for myself but also giving back to the community.”
Thank you Sam for sharing your wonderful experience with us and for your work to enrich communities around the world!
If you are interested in enrolling in the 2013 China Summer Teaching Program, feel free to visit our website or call us for more information at 800-292-2316.
ABOUT UNITED PLANET
United Planet is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a global community, one relationship at a time. Established in 2001, United Planet offers volunteer abroad, virtual internships, internships abroad, gap year volunteering, and global virtual exchange in more than 40 countries.
