 PCC students pose for a group photo with their counterparts from Wuxi Institute of Technology. |
WINTERVILLE�While many Americans are headed to China this month for the Olympic Games in Beijing, a group from Pitt Community College recently returned from a two-week journey to the world�s most populous country. From May 28 to June 9, a seven-member PCC delegation and eight members from the community traveled to China to visit Pitt�s sister school, Wuxi Institute of Technology (or WXIT), and learn more about an ancient country that is growing economically by leaps and bounds. Though the trip was combined with the college�s PCC Abroad travel program, it was much more than a typical sightseeing venture. The itinerary included tours of manufacturing facilities and visits to Chinese classrooms in addition to the usual attractions like the Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors and Tiananmen Square. �This was more than a tour,� said Dan Mayo, Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs. �The trip was global education at its best. Our faculty and students personally experienced life, business, and education in China.� Mayo said group members thoroughly prepared for their trip by participating in a six-week continuing education course titled �Business in China.� The class, he said, focused on Chinese language and culture and featured lessons in basic Mandarin as well as presentations from Pitt County business leaders who routinely conduct commerce in China. Hong Ming Chan, owner and chef at Greenville�s Szechuan Garden, provided an authentic Chinese dinner for the class and provided them with tips on dining etiquette in his native country. Chan also arranged for the group to receive a personalized dinner and evening tour of Shanghai. �We certainly got the red carpet and black limousine treatment in Shanghai,� said PCC student Erica Balbuena concerning the dinner and tour with Chan�s retail and property development relatives in Shanghai. But to hear and read about China is one thing. Being there provides a much more detailed picture, Mayo said, adding that there is no substitute for travel. �This was a fantastic trip; just to see our students gaining a new perspective of the world beyond the county line,� said Mayo, who first traveled to China in 2006 as part of UNC-Chapel Hill�s World View program. �They certainly made the most of this experience. They now have friends halfway around the world and have developed a desire to learn more about China. They have a new awareness and have developed a new appreciation for all things Chinese.� Derek Combs, a 2008 PCC graduate and former Student Government Association president, said traveling to China was an important educational experience that will benefit him as he continues his studies at East Carolina University. �I am a history major and it is essential for us to know the culture of other countries that are far older than ours and not limit ourselves to the knowledge of just our own nation,� he said. After a 15-hour flight to China, the PCC contingent visited the WXIT campus, which is located northwest of Shanghai in Jiangsu Province. Upon their arrival to the school, which serves 11,000 full-time students, they took part in a formal question-and-answer session with WXIT administrators and students. Mayo said the questions were geared toward PCC practices and activities. But following the session, he said, the Chinese hosts wanted to know more from the students about American social life. While on campus, the PCC delegation observed classes, student activities, presentations, and meetings with WXIT faculty and administration. The WXIT visit also included student-led tours of the campus�s modern facilities, which proved particularly interesting to PCC mathematics instructor Katalin Szucs. �The entry-level mathematics at WXIT is calculus,� she said. �At PCC, calculus is our most advanced math course.� The classroom experience also made a lasting impression on Pitt English instructor Darlene Smith-Worthington. �The students are impressive,� she said. �I am amazed at their level of competence in communicating in English �. Their desire to learn, their seriousness, and the amount of time they spend on their studies are enviable.� The group also visited several Chinese companies. Mayo said stops at a Shanghai Volkswagen plant, a Shenzhen brewing company, a Xi�an soap and detergent manufacturer and Hong Kong�s business and export districts shed light on the remarkable growth taking place in the world�s second-largest economy. �It made me aware that China is going to play a leading role in the world economy and politics much sooner that I expected before,� Szucs said. �I realize that it is my duty to prepare my students for the strong competition that is coming. I have always respected the ancient history and culture of China, but now I respect their current efforts, intelligence and sensitivity as well.� Smith-Worthington, who coordinates PCC�s Travel Abroad program, said she will remember China�s beauty and contrasts. �I will never think of China the same way,� she said. �It is a wonderful place to visit, an awesome place of great contrasts � ancient wonders and new skyscrapers, great wealth and great poverty, freedom and restriction, and more.� In 2007, a four-member delegation from WXIT�comprised of the school�s president, Dai Yong, and three instructors�visited the United States to learn more about the American education system. The group spent two weeks at PCC interacting with faculty and staff to learn more about community college education in the North Carolina. According to Mayo, the partnership between Pitt and WXIT is important. �It provides a unique opportunity for our faculty, staff and students to have invaluable first-hand experience with China and recognize its connection with Pitt County and our college.�
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