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Teacher Stories Across the bridge Students from Mojiang No 1 Primary School, Yunnan Province, China 2001 I feel privileged to have taken part in the recent Asia Education Foundation Teacher In Country Fellowship to Asia (TICFA) program to China. My first task was to choose an image of Australia to take to China. My choice was a photo of my husband on the tractor slashing the paddocks, with the dust caught in the setting sun behind him. As we gathered in the Golden Dragon Hotel in Kunming to view the Groups' collective images of Australia I nodded my head in agreement. Of course... the surfboat at the beach, the Koala in a gum tree, Uluru at sunset and a multicultural class photo, they were all images of Australia. There was not one photo the same. Over the next few weeks we came to learn exactly the same lesson firsthand, about China. China is a bombardment of the senses! From the pungent aromas of Jasmine green tea to the olfactory overload of a public squat toilet. From the hand grabbed in friendship to dance around a bonfire to the fond embrace farewelling new friends. From the shrill solo of the Peking Opera to the rousing rendition of a seventy student strong chorus of Xiannen Hao Yao (Happy new year!). From the vibrantly colourful Lahu Minority costumes to the coal smeared, white tiled façade of the new buildings erected in the name of progress. And from the tantalizingly delectable "Across the bridge noodles" to the crunch of bamboo worms and webbing from ducks feet! China is a land of contrasts. The TICFA program is successful on so many levels. A bridge from one culture to another, slowly breaking down barriers of ignorance and prejudice at the grass roots level, with our most important asset, our children. Allowing teachers to make contact with other teachers in foreign countries and enter their classrooms to teach. Walking a mile in someone else's shoes makes the experience so much more realistic than reading about it from a text. Professional discussions after teaching reveal that although we teach on different continents, kids are kids all over the world. The keen students sit at the front of the room throwing their hands in the air at every chance and the behavior problems still try to talk behind a hand or book and avoid making eye contact. The more I looked for differences between China and Australia the more similarities I found. The bond that developed between the nineteen strangers that began the tour is incredibly strong and continues to strengthen although we come from all parts of Australia and teach in a range of different schools. This network will be invaluable in the future as we collaborate on curriculum projects and continue to exchange ideas across a range of KLA's including high school and primary school perspectives. The TICFA experience has been an amazing, opportunity for professional, personal and spiritual growth, that I'm extremely grateful to have taken part in. Sue Nuttall St John's Primary School NSW | More Teacher Stories | Go to the top of the page Contacts Further information on the TICFA program is available from: Ms Kristi Sheldon, Manager, In-Country Programs k.sheldon@asialink.unimelb.edu.au Mr Aaron O'Shannessy, Project Officer, In-County Programs a.oshannessy@asialink.unimelb.edu.au Asia Education Foundation Sidney Myer Asia Centre The University of Melbourne Parkville Victoria 3010 Australia Telephone: 03 8344 4800 Facsimile: 03 9347 1768