Discovering China Connections - A Message from Elaine Wu ‘21
My name is Elaine Wu and I served as a Shansi Fellow from 2021-2024. Given that my first two years of teaching for Shanxi Agricultural University (SXAU) were online, Shansi extended my Fellowship for a third year, allowing me to finally teach in person in Taigu, China. This year, I set up an independent contract with SXAU to continue teaching a 4th year. By the time I finish this academic year, I will have spent as much time with Shanxi Agricultural University as I did as a student at Oberlin.
Teaching online was far from ideal. I knew this would be the case when I accepted the fellowship, but the prospect of living in China still called to me. From 2021 to 2023, I adapted to a new, challenging role in unusual circumstances, with support from the SXAU administration, Shansi staff, and my co-teachers, Rex, Jenn, Jess, and Amy. We were all in this together.
What I didn’t expect was the connections I’d form with my students in China. In between online lectures and virtual office hours, they’d send me messages that shared pieces of their lives. I got to see photos of their hometowns, families, and pets. They told me about the food we’d eat together and the places we could go once we arrived. These messages gave me hope.
Arriving in China felt like a blur. I was learning at a rapid pace, seeing buildings and hearing about old stories cataloged on Shansi’s website and online archive – resources I had spent the last two years becoming familiar with. I was finally getting the opportunity to live abroad while becoming part of Shansi’s storied legacy in China.
These moments still continue to hit me. Last fall, Sun Jiaqin (孙嘉沁) a friend I’d made playing badminton, invited me to watch Yangko (Chinese opera originating from Taigu) in her home village. After the performance, we spent the afternoon plucking persimmons in her family’s courtyard and preparing a late lunch–a homey meal of egg and tomato stir fry, Coca-Cola chicken wings, Shanxi noodles, and classic Taigu cold dishes. As we dug in, the first snow of the year peppering the streets outside, I realized that I had finally made it.
My Shansi experience has been defined by the connections I’ve made. This opportunity is once in a lifetime, and is part of a larger mission. As inaccuracies and misconceptions about China pervade US discourses, my friends and mentors here in Shanxi motivate me to demystify life here.
I am honored to share my story as part of Shansi’s Connections Campaign. I hope you will consider making a gift to Shansi by visiting www.shansi.org/donate to give online or send a check to Oberlin Shansi, 50 North Professor Street, Oberlin, OH 44074. You can also learn more about other ways to give, and some tax-advantaged giving opportunities, on the Shansi website or by emailing us at shansi@oberlin.edu.
Finally, I invite you to take a peek at my world in Taigu in the video 2+2: Education in Taigu. I hope you enjoy it!
Sincerely,
Elaine Wu ‘21
Shansi Fellow to Shanxi Agricultural University ‘21-’24