Student 2: “We had the first Embrace the Spotlight (ETS) session today, which was a bit hectic, but proved successful in the end. For some reasons, none of our students were here until about 20 minutes into when class was supposed to start. Additionally, we found out that we would be teaching in the “YBB Headquarters”, and thus had to clean up the whole back of the room. It was slightly unprofessional, but we still pulled it off. When they came all at once, we started with introduction interviews which went smoothly. The students were pretty fluent at English, and lived interesting and unique lives. Afterwards we learned about occupations, and played lots of games, much to the delight of the students. The session as very successful and fun, and we created a bond, similar to the ones that will be forged in Gansu. The technology was magnificent, and was cool. One of my favorite activities in the tour were walking on stilts and doing dragon dances. They got me sweating, but were very fun. After a delicious lunch with my friends, as well as a lot of pictures, we left to get ready for shopping. My friends and I got everything we would possibly need and split the money. The total was 300 yuan, which was completely worth it.
Student 4: “Today we went to a village and toured the museum. I saw so many cool things like the history behind the cotton weavings as well as people wearing them. I got to try it! Afterwards, we kept walking around. We walked on stilts, did a dragon dance, and watched a cool puppet show. Then, we interviewed some leaders from a nearby village and I learned many things. He told us about his village as well as his leadership skills. I learned that being a leader is much more than just telling people what to do. Being a leader is to make sure everyone is on the same page and to make your group work efficiently.”
Student 5: “We had a very interesting discussion with the village leader. We learned that in the village, everyone is expected to keep the village clean. They take out trash every morning, and hire people to take the trash out of the river to keep the environment clean. China’s government could use more of those people. But more importantly, we learned how the leaders mediated disputes. They would try to be fair and listen to both sides of the argument. If they couldn’t reach a solution, they’d let the two people take it to the courts. Unfortunately, we don’t have an YBB court, but the message stayed the same: be fair, listen to both sides, and reach a compromise both sides can agree with.”
Student 7: “Today was the first day of Embrace the Spotlight and I felt like it was a success, except our kids were really shy. We still need to figure out how we should break the tension and get them to open up to us. I also like my teaching group for Embrace the Spotlight since they’re all really nice and easy to get along with.”
Edited by Justin Zhou
Student 4: “Today we went to a village and toured the museum. I saw so many cool things like the history behind the cotton weavings as well as people wearing them. I got to try it! Afterwards, we kept walking around. We walked on stilts, did a dragon dance, and watched a cool puppet show. Then, we interviewed some leaders from a nearby village and I learned many things. He told us about his village as well as his leadership skills. I learned that being a leader is much more than just telling people what to do. Being a leader is to make sure everyone is on the same page and to make your group work efficiently.”
Student 5: “We had a very interesting discussion with the village leader. We learned that in the village, everyone is expected to keep the village clean. They take out trash every morning, and hire people to take the trash out of the river to keep the environment clean. China’s government could use more of those people. But more importantly, we learned how the leaders mediated disputes. They would try to be fair and listen to both sides of the argument. If they couldn’t reach a solution, they’d let the two people take it to the courts. Unfortunately, we don’t have an YBB court, but the message stayed the same: be fair, listen to both sides, and reach a compromise both sides can agree with.”
Student 7: “Today was the first day of Embrace the Spotlight and I felt like it was a success, except our kids were really shy. We still need to figure out how we should break the tension and get them to open up to us. I also like my teaching group for Embrace the Spotlight since they’re all really nice and easy to get along with.”
Edited by Justin Zhou
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