'The students proposed having a potluck Thanksgiving dinner ... The potluck gave us a chance to meld cultures and build bonds—some of which endure to this day—and in that moment I knew I had much to be thankful for.' ScienceCareers
Golden autumn. The best time of year in Beijing. I'd just flown in from the United States to start a position teaching scientific writing in English. I hadn't been to China before, much less taught there, so I didn't know what to expect."Will I be able to establish rapport with my students?" I wondered."Will we communicate adequately?" At the start of my first class, I looked around at my students: 17 scientists.
I had dreamed of international work ever since I'd received my medical and public health degrees and embarked on a science communication career 4 years earlier. Yet I hesitated about applying for the opportunity in Beijing. I felt unsure about spending a school year in then-isolated China and putting my tenure-track position at risk. I also worried about venturing so far from my parents, one of whom had been seriously ill.
So I found myself in Beijing. Most of my students were female faculty members approaching my parents' age. They made a point of taking care of me outside the classroom—inviting me to make dumplings, showing me where to shop, and taking me to Chinese operas—and I immersed myself in my host culture. In return, I enjoyed sharing bits of U.S. culture with my students. In November, I told them about U.S. Thanksgiving and the traditional dishes, such as sweet potatoes and turkey.
I look back fondly on my time in Beijing. I've been proud to see class members publish internationally and to see one elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Some have shared what I taught them with their own students.
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