A 19-year-old girl went to Ukraine to teach and accidentally became a local online celebrity.
Our reporter Shao Qiaohong Our correspondent Hu Min
This summer vacation, Liu Zixuan, a 19-year-old unnc financial management major, flew to poltava, a small town in eastern Ukraine, and became a teaching teacher.
This is her first time to go abroad. With a can of Laoganma, she came to a foreign country more than 8,000 kilometers away from China. She was originally responsible for improving students’ English, became a disseminator of China culture, and also taught Chinese.
She took a selfie with the governor of Poltava, and also appeared in local media, newspapers and websites.
With Chinese knots, paper-cuts and Laoganma.
She set foot on Ukrainian soil.
In April this year, Liu Zixuan learned through the school AIESEC society (AIESEC is the world’s largest organization for young students, spanning 126 countries and regions around the world) that there is a summer education program in poltava, a small town in eastern Ukraine, which mainly teaches English. She decided to have a try.
This is her first time to go abroad. In addition to the necessities of life, the suitcase contains dozens of Chinese knots bought on Taobao, dozens of paper-cuts and a bottle of "Laoganma".
On June 3rd, Liu Zixuan set off from Shanghai, flew to Kazakhstan in five hours, transferred to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, for three hours, took a day off at the AIESEC camp with more than 100 other volunteers from all over the world, and set off again by train for poltava, a small town in eastern Ukraine (a fairly large town in the local area). By the end of this trip, it was already 3 am.
When she was taken to her host family where she was going to stay for a month, her mother Itali and her little daughter were still waiting for her.
As soon as I opened the door, Italia and her little daughter gave Liu Zixuan a big warm hug, which moved her when she just arrived in a foreign country.
"The local people give me a very friendly and enthusiastic feeling. Their uncles and aunts can also dance square dance, but they will dress very formally." Liu Zixuan said.
The children are too interested in China.
She made a PPT to introduce it.
As an English volunteer, Liu Zixuan went to the No.28 Middle School in the town to teach. She is in charge of the children’s classes in the summer camp, and only needs to attend classes for three hours every morning.
There are about 300 students in No.28 Middle School, and English is the teaching feature. It is no problem to communicate with the students simply. Liu Zixuan soon discovered that she might be the first Chinese to reach the town of poltava.
"What is China like?" "What’s your hometown like?" "Where do so many people live in China?" ……
After class, the children’s problems were overwhelming, which made her a little overwhelmed.
"I didn’t expect that everyone was so interested in China." Liu Zixuan thinks it is necessary for her to let everyone introduce China culture to China.
She made a PPT in her spare time. On the PPT, she put photos taken during her travels in Shanghai and Hainan, and also put China’s delicious food: hot pot and beef noodles in her hometown in Hubei. The students watched it with relish. "The food in Ukraine is quite simple. Everyone is drooling when they see the food photos I put."
Not only do we show you what China is like, but local teachers and students also learn Chinese with Liu Zixuan. In English class, Liu Zixuan is also interspersed with Chinese words such as "Hello", "Thank you" and "I love you".
She plays selfies with the governor.
And in the local newspaper.
After teaching for about three weeks, at the end of June, Liu Zixuan received a notice that a local government official wanted to meet her. Two days later, a staff member came to pick her up, and joined the Lithuanian uncle and European brother who were teaching in other places.
They were taken to a conference room, which looked grand, "because I saw the leader followed by many reporters and carrying cameras."
Liu Zixuan realized that this leader was the governor of Poltava, "equivalent to the governor of China".
The governor told Liu Zixuan that he was glad to see volunteers from China participating in this charity project, and he also hoped that local children could learn more English.
Liu Zixuan is the youngest of the three volunteers. When she saw the other two volunteers being interviewed, she took out her mobile phone and took a selfie with the governor, which was photographed by the media and posted in local newspapers and websites.
On July 2nd, it was the day when Liu Zixuan left, and the old godmother she brought with her had been eaten upside down.
The day before, hundreds of children surrounded her, singing and taking photos. Liu Zixuan also took out her small gift from China and distributed it to everyone.
"After I leave this time, I may never have the opportunity to go to that small town again, and the people I have met may never see it again, but I can tell people what China is like in a strange country. This experience is what I mean as a volunteer for teaching." Liu Zixuan said.