I am so excited to explore China with you! My first exposure to China was on a community service-based summer trip in 1999, so I fully understand how meaningful and exciting this experience will be for all of you. Were it not for my trip to China the summer before I began applying to colleges, I would not be where I am today. As an undergraduate, I double majored in Sociology and East Asian Studies, and I spent my junior year abroad at Beijing University intensively studying Mandarin Chinese. Immediately after college, I worked at an NGO in Boston coordinating youth-driven initiatives seeking to create positive changes in the Chinatown neighborhood.
After two incredible years as the only non-Chinese staff member at my organization, I decided to return to China to help westerners get adapted to living and teaching in China. For over a year, I managed a volunteer program for WorldTeach, an International Education NGO based at Harvard University’s Center for International Development. I was the sole staff member in the country responsible for 43 American volunteer living all over Hunan Province. It was very exhausting and rewarding job.
After living in China for a few years, I decided to return to the U.S. for graduate school. A lot of my coursework and research related to economics and international development. (I really like economics!) While getting my M.A., I was also able to spent an academic semester studying Uyghur language and culture at Xinjiang Normal University in Northwest China. — Be sure to ask me about my time there.
Throughout my years of formal education, I have done extensive research on a variety of topics related to China. My academic interests have no boundaries, and I have written papers on everything from classical Chinese philosophy to modern urban planning in Shanghai. Although I have read a ton of books on the country, I still find that I learn the most from speaking to common people on the streets. I encourage you to do the same!
To steal a quotation from William Butler Yeats, I am a firm believer that “education is not the filling of the pail, but the lighting of the fire.” I realize that everyone on this trip will have different learning styles, so my goal will be to create a mature learning community, facilitate independent inquiry, and allow everyone to develop their own conclusions. Rather than try to fill up your “pails”, I would prefer to provide the basis for thoughts, discussion, and debates …and then leave it up to you to figure out what the “right” answer is.
My best advice for you is to not pack too much and begin to wean yourself from any addictions you have to the internet and mobile phones. I challenge you to be completely engaged in your surroundings each moment you are in China. If you are constantly worrying about lugging around heavy bags or freaking out because you cannot connect to wifi, you will miss out on all the magnificence that is in China.
Almost everything you think you need (toiletries, clothes, etc.) is available for purchase in China at a fair price. Just bring yourself, some quality clothes, a blank journal, any medications, and printed out pictures of your friends, family, and school. — People in China love seeing pictures of “real life” in the United States!
I have held residence in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Massachusetts, and California …and for the last 5 years I have been in Central Virginia. I currently work as a Mandarin teacher at a public high school right down the road from the University of Virginia. I absolutely love learning about new cultures, and my adventures have taken me through North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. (I even spent a good chunk of time working with the U.S. Army in Kabul, Afghanistan!) My lifelong goal is to travel to a new country every year.
When I am not working, studying, or grading papers, I enjoy running, tennis, karaoke, and reading. I am currently reading “Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China” by Evan Osnos. Mr. Osnos is a staff writer at the The New Yorker, and he has written some of my favorite pieces on China. Please look over this book if you can.
I am VERY excited to meet all of you in China. As I already mentioned, it was around 16 years ago that I first stepped foot on Chinese soil, and I have learned so much about this country, the world, and myself over the years. I hope that 16 years from now, you will be sitting down to type a similar letter. See you soon!
Zai Jian (“goodbye”),
Daniel Stolkowski
Course Instructor
Daniel stolkowski@gmail.com