When I went to Shanghai three years ago to visit family, my cousin took me to visit the night markets on Wujian Lu. As we strolled along the road crowded with vendors and colorful lights, I heard a familiar sound amid the chatter of shanghainese. Someone was speaking English. A little park, set a bit away from the main commotion, held a gathering of people, from business men to middle school girls, college students to curious onlookers, all Chinese, all speaking English.
I approached two college students leaning by a tree, "What's going on here?"
They replied, "It's an English Corner. We gather here to practice our English every week."
We started a lively conversation, and I couldn't help asking, "Why do you guys study English? Do you have hopes to go abroad someday?"
The college student laughed and said, "Well, some people study English to help them get a better job. Some people study it to appear more cultured and worldly. Others study it to show off to their friends. For me... well, I think we all live in a global community today. To understand each other, to communicate is really a part of our modern responsibility now. I don't think about leaving Shanghai - it has all the opportunities that I would ever look for. But still, I study English as part of my role in this new world community. "
I will be flying out to Shanghai by the end of the week to start my adventure studying for the next nine weeks at Harvard Beijing Academy. I think, like the anonymous college student that I met by chance that night, I too am fulfilling part of my role as a global citizen, to better understand our neighbors and my own role here as technology brings us closer together everyday. I will be speaking only Chinese for the next three months, so here will be my own little English Corner - not only a place that I allow myself to communicate in English, but perhaps as a place to explore that same commonality and understanding that I think everyone looks for at some point.
