TJU - My Home Away From Home

The first time I arrived in China via the Beijing airport was in 2014. I was stunned by the size and beautiful decorations. A lifelong dream finally achieved! I had always been fascinated with China’s history, culture and language and I had finally made it here.

After a few weeks of settling all the legal and medical necessities, I started preparing for my classes at Tianjin University. I had brought a lot of material and downloaded books that would be useful for students learning English. I got my apartment ready and met my neighbors and other teachers in my department.

Finally, the first day of classes had arrived and I was nervous and excited to start and meet my new students. I arrived a half hour early to classes because I wanted to ensure I was able to use all the equipment and didn’t want to waste class time in case I had any problems remembering how to turn everything on.

So, I walk in and to my shock and surprise the class was already half full. I had to make sure with my schedule that I was in the right place and sure enough, I was. It was a pleasant but unexpected surprise that I was unaccustomed to. Usually, I have to barter and threaten students to arrive on time and be prepared for class. As I prepared my lesson and turned on the equipment the class was nearly full well before the bell rang at the beginning of class. I distinctly remember one student, the last to arrive stop dead in his tracks looking embarrassed and apologized to me for being late. I smile and possibly laughed as I said, “you’re not late actually, class hasn’t started”.

I was so surprised by the dedication my new students demonstrated and this was only the first of many happy surprises that would ruin all other teaching jobs for me. When I say “ruin” I mean that I would never be able to accept any other behavior in class. Students were always attentive and curious to learn more, assignments were finished on time, and they even asked me for feedback. I was just impressed at how seriously these young people take their education. It was refreshing and I instantly wished that students were like this back home.

All too quickly the semester was coming to an end. It was a couple of weeks from finals and I received a phone call from back home. My husband had been diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and it was serious. I was devastated to be so far away from home and all of a sudden, I felt terribly alone. Immediately after speaking with my husband I contacted my supervisor and she in turn went to the dean. They quickly helped me sort out what needed to be done and two days later I was on a plane to be with my husband. At the time I thought I would go and make sure he was fine and return to finish the next semester of my contract. Four days after landing, my mother passed away suddenly. It was a hard time in my life and having to deal with work far away from home was adding more stress. Fortunately, my supervisor and Office of International Cooperation were understanding and sympathetic of my situation. It was a relief to me that Chinese culture is so embedded with family values. So, I was easily able to stay home and I said goodbye to my colleagues and students.

My interest in China and the language didn’t die down and in 2017, my husband was stable and as healthy as could be despite his CKD. He supported my decision to continue my studies and I found a way to have my employer at the time, the University of Guadalajara, help me pay for my expenses to take a summer language course in China. It worked, they paid my plane ticket and course and I flew to Tianjin University (TJU) to become a language student in the summer school program. I especially enjoyed all the art and craft classes after language lessons. I was able to visit new places in Tianjin that I hadn’t seen before as the School of International Education took us all on field trips in the city. I advanced my studies that summer, previously I had self-studied and I was happy to be in a class and learning from the teacher and classmates who had been studying Chinese for two years. At the end of this class I took the HSK exam for the first time and I achieved level two. I was delighted for that opportunity and went back home.

Gabriela Venegas gives a lecture on English news writing.

My fascination wasn’t fulfilled just yet. So, in 2018 I made the decision to come back to China and work as an English teacher. I spoke to many schools and recruiters alike, had online interviews, emailed resumes but I just wasn’t interested in going to those schools or other provinces. So, finally I asked a friend who is still working at TJU who I had met in 2014 if she knew of any positions available for me. She sent some messages and was told that there was a chance for me. So I came back and time passed quickly and I signed up for another school year 2019 to 2020. The students are still attentive and dedicated. I’m still impressed at the effort they put forth in class and practice. It warms my heart when they say they “enjoy my class and learn a lot”. They are still sweet and polite whenever they are in class or see me around campus. I know that I have made the right decision to return to Tianjin.

Who knows what the future holds for me but for now I’m where I’m supposed to be. I have improved my level of Chinese listening and speaking and hope to take the HSK 3. Though my language learning is slow, it’s steady and I will continue to improve level by level. One day I hope to be as fluent in Chinese as I am in English and Spanish. I cheer myself on with “加油”!

By: Gabriela Venegas

Editor: Sun Xiaofang